The Secret Magic :2: Uncontrollable
by Karigan Marie
Summary: Numair and Daine's daughter is growing. Jade's magic can be uncontrollably dangerous. Tragic events take them to Carthak, and Jade's entire life will be put on the line when the road south reaches farther than she ever imagined possible! COMPLETE! REVIEW!
1. Intro

A/N:  I would like to start out by thanking everyone who read and reviewed my first story.  'Complications' was my first "posted" story.  I have had ideas and written many others, but never put it out for the public eye because I was seriously afraid no one would like my style of writing.  Fanfiction.net aloud me to put myself out there without running the risk of a serious backlash.  To my absolute joy, everyone seems to have thoroughly enjoyed my story; those who did not like it kept quiet (I am assuming).  _Smile.  Anyways, this story is a continuation of my first.  I plan to make this a trilogy.  However, I may, and that's 'may', turn it into a quartet.  It all depends on how much story line I end up with._

Thank you,

Karigan

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Disclaimer:  Of course all the Tortallan characters are mine.  I am the brilliant mind that thought up the amazing determined Lioness, the very independent, awesome best character ever invented Daine, and the absolutely tall and sexy mage, Numair.  ßNotice the big fat lie I just told.  Come on people, we all know 'I' did not come up with such brilliance.  *sigh* Gosh, but do I wish I had.  Then I would be filthy rich.  *dreamy smile*  No really, the only characters that are mine are the ones I came up with.  Yeah, I know…run that by me again…hehe.  Jade and all original characters=MINE. Hehe.

Karigan

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**_IMPORTANT_**

**For the Reader**: If you have not read the first story I wrote –Complications-, I suggest you start with that one.  You may be lost or confused if you try to read this one first.

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The Uncontrollable

By: Karigan

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Introduction

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            She had been born in the spring during the most brilliant of nights.  The stars shone in the cloudless sky and the moon glowed with its entire beautiful splendor.  To her parents Numair and Daine, she was a true gift.  Two failed pregnancies had made the little girl's entrance into the world even more desired.   So no one noticed that while Daine entered the final stages of labor, the trees shifted ever so slightly in response; that when the new born's first screams pierced the castle walls, vines vibrated as if plucked like an orchestral string.  At least, no one connected the strange happenings to the ordinary run of the mill birth.  Maybe they should have.  Maybe they should have noticed that when the 4-month-old caught her first cold, the grain fields outside of Corrus, infected by a disease that did not have the kind of strength to do much damage, was nearly wiped out, creating a near hysteria among the farmers.  Perhaps someone should have picked up on the fact that the palace plants seemed to grow so fast at times it was unnatural or that, in some instances, they withered and died all within a day.  Of course, who would have noticed that while the small girl brooded in absolute livid indignation at being placed in the corner at the grown up age of 3, the river that ran through the royal forest caused a mudslide when the soil was supposedly sturdy enough to withstand the erosion.  Who would have noticed the roots of trees suddenly raising a few inches up, creating looser soil for the river to carry away?  Who would have thought to connect the weird happenings of a mudslide to a small emerald-eyed little girl like Jade.

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A/N: This is only the introduction.  First chapter will be up in about a week.  I won't be able to post as often as I have in the last month because, well, because I'm back in school.  This intro is to get your mind turning on possibilities.  I like to make people think.  Enjoy.

Karigan


	2. The Grump

The Uncontrollable

'The Grump'

*****  

            Numair trudged up long stairwell with tired feet, struggling to get to his rooms before he collapsed from exhaustion.  He wiped at his sweaty brow with hands covered in crusted dried mud, making the swipe an irritating one.  He pushed open his room door using his entire body.  He walked over to the water basin.  Plunging in his hands he yawned loudly.  From the other rooms came a rustling of movement.  From one of the doors walked a blond, blue-eyed elderly woman wiping her wet hands on her apron, sleeves pushed up around her elbows.  "How'd it go?" Numair asked curiously.

            The woman smirked, taking a quick glace over her shoulder towards the room she had just exited.  "She's still upset.  Won't talk to even me.  Didn't even touch the breakfast I gave her in protest of cruel and unusual treatment."  She handed Numair the cloth.

            "She'll eat it when she gets hungry enough," muttered Numair through the cloth he was using to wipe his face with.

            "She's stubborn, that one is.  More 'an her mother I think.  Sat there the entire time, arms crossed mumbling 'bout great mages never bein' punished so horribly."  The woman laughed in mirth.  "She went straight t'bed without supper –her first act of protest-and hasn't come out from under the covers since.  I swear Numair, tha' girl is no more 'an 3 years and already she's waging war on you.  What will ya do when she's 15 an 16?"

            Numair chuckled. "Lock her up, I suppose."

            "Well, she'll get over her temper soon enough, she will."

            Numair looked at the woman with a self-satisfied grin.  "She will if she wants to the Beltane festival this year."

            "She's a bright girl, she is.  As bright as her eyes.  She'll come 'round soon enough."  Numair grinned.  "Where is tha' mother of hers anyways? Surely you didn't leave her with all the men to shovel up the mess the river made last night."

            Numair groaned in annoyance.  "She refused to leave the place until she was 'sure' no more animals needed healing.  She's going to tire herself out to much.  She did nothing _but heal all night."_

            "She just wants to do some good is all.  With tha' magic of 'ers, why shouldn't she?"

            "For the same reason Jade isn't aloud to wander off like she did yesterday, even if it is to the gardens; it's to dangerous.  Daine is powerful, but she isn't tireless.  She's using too much energy."

            "Worrisome husband; worrisome father."

            Numair stared at the wall in annoyance.  "Good-bye Niva; and thank you."

            The old woman laughed with mirth.  "Anytime laddy, anytime.  I should go back to the kitchen to start preparing the lunch meals."  With that, the little old woman left.

            Numair finished wiping off as much dried mud as he could and knocked lightly on the door Niva had come out of.  "Jade?" No answer.  He smirked.  He opened the door slightly, poking his head in and almost laughed at what he saw.  Jade lay on her bed, sheets pulled up over her head so that it molded to her short length.  Her pillow was resting on top of her head.  Not one inch of her body was uncovered.  "Are you talking to me?"

            "No!" came the short and curt reply

            Numair tried to repress the grin that was spreading across his face.  "Why?"

            "'cause!"

            Numair raised an eyebrow as he walked up to the foot of the bed.  "Why?"

            "'cause you're mean," came the muffled and grumpy voice.

            "Why am I mean?" he asked.

            "You put me in the corner," grumbled Jade indignantly.

            "You're mother put you in the corner, not me."

            "You let her put me in the corner," revised the grumpy girl.

            Numair sighed.  "Jade, you can't wander off like you did yesterday."

            Jade rocketed up to a sitting position, the pillow flying to the floor.  Her hair was a complete tangle of dark brown-nearly black curls, her cheeks flushed from the heat under the covers.  Her emerald green eyes sparkled with anger, further accented by the distinct black Cartheki eyelashes she'd inherited from him.  Her mother's stubborn jaw was set in irritation.  "I'm a big girl now!"

            Numair sat next to her on the bed, his huge length dwarfing the small 3-year-old.  "Jade, you're getting bigger, yes; but you're not big enough to go wherever you want whenever you want.  You have to let your mother or I know where you are.  We worry."

            Jade squinted at him in consideration, her pert nose scrunching up as she pondered.  Numair couldn't help but notice, for the millionth time, the very light dusting of freckles that gave her a distinct look of mischief.  Nevertheless, by far, her eyes were the most noticeable of her looks.  They were deep emerald green, the color of brilliant Jade-emeralds.  She'd gotten her tanner skin complexion from him. Her hair was a mixture of Daine and him, but her face structure was her mother's completely.  Absolutely gorgeous if you asked him.

            "All right," said a now happy Jade.

            Numair was caught off guard.  "All right?"

            Jade nodded.  "I tell mamma or you when I want to go somewhere."

            "I _will tell mamma or you…," he corrected._

            "I _will…," blurted Jade.  "Where's mamma?" she suddenly questioned._

            "She's still out in the forest helping the others clean up after the mudslide last night."

            "What's a mudslide?"

            "A mudslide is a downhill movement of soft wet earth and debris, made fluid by rain or melted snow and often building up great spee…" he stopped at his daughter's utterly confused face.  He sighed.  "Lots of water and dirt put together, sweetling," he amended.

            Jade's eyes grew big as saucers and just as excited.  A small evil grin plastered itself across her cute face as she giggled in anticipation.  "Mud," she whispered.

            Numair looked at her warily and said very quickly.  "No! You may not go out and play in the mud!"

            Her face grew sad and she stuck out her trembling bottom lip.  He clapped his hand over his eyes, shielding himself from his daughters puppy face.  "No!"

*****

I couldn't resist posting this chapter so fast.  I'm not even close to be well on my way.  But here you go…enjoy.

Karigan

Review!!!!!!!!!!


	3. Morning After

The Uncontrollable

'The Morning After'

*****

            "This is where it gave way, here on the Western bank of the river.  The Eastern bank didn't give way at all," commented Sarge to Gary, Raoul, Alanna and Daine.  They looked around.  The river made a sharp turn to the West at this point.  It separated two different parts of the forest.  The Eastern bank was thinner in the way of trees.  The few that did reside there were hardly more than saplings.  The Western bank however, held densely populated fully-grown pines that, before the mudslide, reached the very edge of the river.  Now the edge of the Western bank was nothing more than a steep incline of fallen earth and trees that spanned an area of almost 100 feet.

            Gary raised his eyebrows at Sarge.  "This looks like most mudslide starting points to me."

            Sarge looked at him as if he were an idiot.  "Do you not see it, lad?"

            "See what?" asked Alanna.  Daine tried to 'see' whatever Sarge had been ranting incoherently about for 20 minutes when he came to get them down at the edge of the forest where the mudslide had done the most damage.  She looked around in confusion.  Sarge was obviously trying to get them to notice something of importance.

            The huge man sighed in aggravation before starting up again.  "The river turns west here.  It shouldn't have caused a mudslide."

            "Well, obviously it did Sarge, so what's your point?" questioned Gary.

            Daine was about to agree.  There obviously had been a mudslide on the Western side; so what did the fact that the river turned west here have to do with…oh….  "It should have been the Eastern side," she said in realization.

            "What?" Alanna.

            "The river…," Daine pointed.  "It turns west.  So the majority of the water pressure is placed on the _Eastern bank where the turn is.  The mudslide _should_ have come from the Eastern bank."_

            "So maybe the Eastern bank has stronger earth.  It _is possible."  Raoul pitched in._

            "True," commented Sarge.  "But not in this case.  Look at the trees on both sides.  First of all, they're Pines.  Pines grow best in thick packed dirt.  It allows the roots to get a better grip.  The Eastern bank has hardly any grown trees while the Western half is packed full of 'em."

            "So the Western bank should have been sturdier than the Eastern." Alanna concluded.

            "Then why was there a mudslide on the Western side?" questioned Raoul.

            "That's why I said you all should come and see this.  I wandered around a bit to see what could have caused the Western bank to cave.  That's when I noticed this…" he walked towards the new edge of the Western bank where the earth had given way.  He walked up to one of the trees that narrowly missed having fallen in with the others and stooped down.  "Look at the roots."  She looked.  'Ok'…so they had roots…'nothing odd about that, right?'  "Some of them reach out of the ground as if they were Willows or somthin'.  Pines _don't_ have roots that come out of the ground.

            "So it's a messed up tree." Raoul sighed.  "There are the occasional rogue trees."

            Sarge stared him down.  "Not like this.  The tree wouldn't have survived to be this old with roots like those."

            "So what you're implying, is that the roots just…" Alanna waved her arm around "…lifted its roots out of the ground last night?"  Sarge raised his eyebrows up in answer.  Alanna smirked.  "You have a good imagination, Sarge.  Anyone ever tell you that?" She smiled and turned to walk away.  "Come on Daine, let's get back to the damaged area."       Daine followed silently.  "Sarge is getting too old." Alanna laughed.  "Have you ever heard of such nonsense?"

            Daine smiled and almost laughed when she suddenly stopped in contemplation.  "Yes," she said.

            "What?"

            "4 years ago, Alanna.  Don't you remember?  I mean, you actually saw it; I didn't."

            "Alanna stopped in her tracks.  She looked back in the direction they had come from and squinted.  "But that was because of the firebirds, Daine."

            "No.  Lorelei told me it wasn't them.  That they hadn't anything to do with it.  She said it was forest magic or something."

            "But it happened when the firebirds were _here_.  The forest, whatever magic it has, wouldn't do something like _that_…" she gestured towards the banks.  "…for no reason."

            "How do you know? Maybe they did have a reason.  We don't know anything about the magic in the forest.  We can't just conclude it wouldn't happen; we don't know."

            Alanna sighed heavily.  "Great.  Just another mystery to add to the hundreds of my lifetime."  She stretched her arms over her head and yawned loudly.  "The temporary magical holdings we put on the damn mudslide last night took a lot out of me.  If Numair hadn't been there, I don't think we could have stopped it before it reached the edge of the forest and hit the crops.  I'm getting old."

            Daine laughed.  "You're not old, Alanna."

            "No?" she asked incredulously.  "I'll be forty in five months.  I'd say that's getting up there in age.  Be happy you're only 25, Daine.  You got a lot of years ahead of you still."

            Daine smirked and raised doubting eyebrows.  "I feel old.  I don't know how you pulled off three children Alanna.  I can hardly keep up with my one."

            Alanna laughed loudly.  "Jade is a slingshot, I'll give you that."

            "She's _wild!" Daine insisted.  "She has more energy than a packed canon!"  Daine rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands tiredly._

            "Speaking of your canon ball…," said Alanna.

            Daine dropped her hands to see where her daughter was when she heard a loud "Mamma!" screeched happily from up ahead.  Jade ran towards them with all the speed her little 3-year-old legs would give her, her father trailing behind.  Daine smiled brightly at her daughter.  'Well at least she's over her funk.' They had left late last night when the castle was woken up to the sounds of crashing trees from far away.  All the Mages rushed out to help slow the gradually increasing mudslide.  Female servants had been sent up to watch any children that were left sleeping in their beds.  Jade had been punished that night for wandering off and giving Daine another grouping of gray hairs after spending half an hour looking for her.  The little emerald-eyed girl had been _furious_ at being placed in the corner, refusing to talk to her father or Daine for the rest of the evening.  That had obviously passed.  The smile on Daine's face suddenly vanished, replaced by a dead-pan look of utter amazement as Jade came closer.  Her daughter was completely _covered_,_ from head to toe, in _mud_!_

            Jade leaped into her mother's arms and started ranting about earthworms being slimy and gross.  "Jade, Jade, wait a second sweet…" Jade ceased.  "_Why are you covered in Mud?" Daine asked with a maternal whine._

            Jade looked at her blankly; as if the answer was obvious.  "Because I was playing in the mud, Mamma."

            "I see that, Jade.  But _why were you playing in the mud?"_

            "Papa let me!" she stated happily.

            Daine raised her eyebrows in curiosity.  "Did he?"  The little girl nodded rigorously.

            Daine looked past the girl in her arms to a nervous looking Numair.  He had his hands shoved into his pockets with a look of guilty innocence plastered across is face.  He smiled testingly at her.  When she didn't smile back he shrugged, made a look of apology and explained, "She did the lip thing."

            Daine's head fell back in exasperation as she groaned.  "You are so _weak_, Numair.  I swear, you let her do whatever she wants.  She has you wrapped around her finger like a string," she accused.

            He walked up to her, and, with Jade still in her mother's arms, kissed her sweetly.  "No different than you, Magelet."

            Daine sighed as she set down a wiggling Jade.  "You get to bathe her tonight," she stated as she walked arm in arm with him after Jade who was talking animatedly with Alanna.

*****

A/N: I hope you all are enjoying the story so far.  I am.  I have a lot of work this weekend so I won't be posting right away.  Give me reviews…lots of reviews…you know how much I love them.  Hehe…bye bye

Karigan


	4. A Friendly Spider

I finally finished the outline for this second story…wow…!  It took a while to put together.  I am fair confident in saying that in all likelihood, this will end up as a quartet.  There is simply too much plot shooting from my head.  I hope that makes everyone happy.  Also, just to let everyone know, this whole epic (4 stories) is going to shift dramatically in this second story.  The majority of the first half focuses on Numair, Daine and Jade.  However, during the second half- and for the next two stories, the emphasis will be on Jade.  I have this entire amazing idea in my head that feels absolutely amazing.  I really think you all will love how this is going to turn out.  I have decided on the titles for all four stories.  1st-Complications; 2nd-The Uncontrollable; 3rd-Whisperings; and 4th-Strength of Jade.  (Note: these are subject to change)

OK~ on with the show!

*****

The Uncontrollable

'The Friendly Spider'

*****

            "Open the gates!" called a soldier from the catwalk lining the stone castle walls.  "His Majesty returns!"  A soldier on the ground opened the metal gates that that cut off the castle from the rest of Corrus.  A group of 20 or so men mounted on sturdy horses trotted in, including one King.

            Jon turned his stallion around to face his Prime Minister.  "What do you think, Gary?"

            "I think the damage isn't as extensive as we originally thought it would be.  The damaged areas seem to have recovered nicely in the 5 months since the mudslide."  Gary threw one leg over his own horse to dismount.  "I certainly thought it would have been worse.  But I'm glad to have been proven wrong."  He landed gracefully from his tall stead.  Taking the reigns, he led the chestnut horse along side the others.

            Jon sighed, refused help from one of his guards to dismount with a stern look and said, "the day I'm too lazy to dismount my horse is the day I should be dethroned."  The men chuckled.

            "You are getting rather old, Jon.  Perhaps you should accept help," jested Gary.

            Jon snorted.  "**You're older than me, dear Cousin.  If anyone is getting old, it's _you!"  _Jon unhooked his robes and threw them over his saddled horse with a cleansing rush of breath.  "Gods, but is that thing heavy!" Looking towards Gary, he asked, "Tell me again why being king isn't an all consuming task."  Gary snickered.**

            "Aww, his Highness chaffs under such hard work as wearing his royal robes witch cost ten gold nobles each."  Jon laughed at the playful banter.

            A high-pitched scream pierced the air.  Jon smiled knowingly and looked around for the small bundle of packed pure energy.  From across the courtyard came a happy Jade.  "Magty, magty…!"

            The men parted for the three-year old who ignored them as she ran as fast as she could towards the King.  Jon bent down and scooped up the happy girl with a laugh.  "And how are you, my great mage?"

            Jade frowned.  "Awsum…Awsum mage, Magty."  The men broke out in laughter.

            Jon looked surprised.  "Oh, forgive me.  How are you my awesome and powerful mage?"  Jade looked pleased.

            "Good.  I was in the stables practicing magic on the cats!" She said with excitement.

            "Really?" said an overenthusiastic King with a smile.  Jade nodded rigorously "And how is your practice going?"

            Jade's face contorted in frustration.  "Not good.  No magic yet."  Gary was smiling at the small girl with mirthful eyes.  Jade had instantly liked the king.  She always filled him in on important matters of the state, including the progression on her as of yet, non-existing magic.  Jon, who loved children, always encouraged her.

            "Oh, well, don't fret.  I'm sure that your magic will soon grow strong enough for you to use and then you will be one of my greatest Mages."  Jade smiled brilliantly, her eyes sparkling.  "But wait, my amazing and _Awesome_ mage, where are you parents?  I do recall you being punished not to long ago for wandering off," he said with the hint of a warning.

            Jade made a face.  "Papa came back from Port Legann today.  He's been gone for two whole weeks!  Papa gave mama a growed up kiss and then Mama said I should go to the courtyard and tell Onua to watch me 'cause Papa and her need growed up time."  To the little three-year-old's surprise, the entire grouping of men who were gathered around the chatting King and girl burst out into roars of hysterical laughter.  Even the king, who seemed a bit more controlled, was red in the face with surprised laughter.  Sir Gareth of Naxen was bent over clutching his stomach in woops of laughter.

            Jon finally composed himself.  "And where is Onua?"

            "She's over in the stables.  She said I could come and see you."  Jon looked up to see Onua moving around in the stables.

            "Did you tell Onua what you just told me?" Jon questioned with a grin.

            "Yup!" answered Jade.  Sniggering and the beginnings of laughter again began in the gathering of men.

            "And what did she say?" he asked, his cheeks hurting from restrained laughter.

            "She just turned _really_ red…" Jade placed her hands on her face and used her voice for emphasis.  "And said, Oh."  Again, roaring male laughter bust out.  Jade looked around curiously.  "What's so funny?" she asked.

            Jon chuckled, "Nothing really, they're laughing at grown-ups and how silly they can be.  Anything else you wish to inform me of today, my great mage?"

            "Nope!"

            "Well then, you should get back to practicing."

            "Alright." Jade wiggled to the ground, took a few running steps before stopping turning around, bowing regally and then taking off again."  The men laughed as she left.

            Gary patted Jon on the back.  "To much information on the relations between two important mages of yours, I believe."

            "Much," Agreed Jon with a laugh.

            "Majesty?" A soldiers voice broke them from their talk.

            "Yes?"

            "A letter from Carthak arrived today.  It is from the Empress, Kalisin.  Her Majesty, the Queen, asked that you come to the Royal quarters to read it."

            Jon smiled.  "A letter from my daughter?  Thayet must be pleased.  She asked Kalisin to write with news about the progress of her newborn daughter at least once a month."

            Gary smiled.  "A grandfather three times over now, Jon.  Two from Kalisin and one from Roald.  Thayet must be ecstatic."

            "Yes, she is.  She was especially happy that she was able to visit Kalisin in Carthak for the birth." Jon smiled weakly.

            "You miss her." Gary said compassionately.

            "Kalisin? Yes, very much.  I haven't seen her in almost 3 years," Jon confided sadly.  "I miss my daughter."

            Gary patted his back comfortingly.  "Go on…go see what the Empress of Carthak has to say."

*****

            Jon entered the Queen's rooms to find a grouping of the Queen's Ladies gathered around Thayet, all of whom were giggling and laughing.  "Look here, it says she's finally holding her head up on her own now," said one of the ladies.  The women awed and sighed with delight.

            "And the Emperor has arranged for his son, Prince Otadan, to be presented to the Cartheki court for the first time," informed Thayet as she read.  "Well, the boy is nearly two, it's about time."  The woman squealed and agreed happily.

            Jon cleared his throat, catching the attention of the entire room.  The ladies stood and bowed respectively before breaking into laughs of delight.  "Your Majesty, can you believe it?  The Empress says Miliani is holding her own head up now," called yet another woman.

            Thayet stood and smiled.  "Ladies, would you please excuse us.  My husband has not yet read _his_ letter from our daughter."  The ladies bowed and left, whispering as they walked down the hall.  Thayet's smiled widened as she rushed towards Jon.  She kissed him and quickly said, "Otadan is to be presented as official heir in two weeks.  Kalisin says he's getting taller and taller by the day.  And Miliani is a perfect Goddess at night.  Never wakes up as Otadan did.  She says…"

            Jon laughed and covered Thayet's mouth softly with his own.  "I think I'll be able to get all that from the letter, sweet."

            Thayet grinned and handed over official envelope marked with the Royal Cartheki Seal.  He opened a smaller envelope addressed to, His Royal Majesty of Tortall, King Jonathan of Conte.  He broke the seal, sat down in a chair and read.

            Dear Father,

            I am overjoyed to say that Miliani is doing marvelously.  She grows by the minute.  Otadan as well is growing at a rate I thought impossible of children.  I wrote, in detail, all their short life's stories in the letter enclosed for Mother, in hopes of sparing you of the menial tid-bits that Mother finds so interesting.  Kaddar is very busy lately with affairs of state.  He try not to worry me, but I believe something is amiss that he will not burden me with.  He has sent a letter to you as well that with luck, you will be able to respond.  He looks to you with great respect and admiration.  I, myself, am doing very well.  Otadan and Miliani keep me very busy.  I have refused to accept the offers made to me to keep them both with Royal Nurses.  I want to be there for as much of their lives as you and Mother were for Roald and mine.  I will always be grateful for the love and time you gave to each of us.

            I am currently working to restore some of the schools here in the Royal city.  They were neglected along with the Temples under the Reign of Emperor Ozorne.  I hope that within a few years, they will be ready for use.  Soon after, I hope to integrate girls into the school system.

            I miss you very much father, and wish more than anything that I could see you again soon.  Tell Mother I miss her terribly as well.  Inform Roald that I am still waiting for the 5 gold nobles I won from him when he came to visit me last summer.

Love always,

Your Daughter,

Kalisin

*****

Jon smiled warmly.  He looked up to see Thayet already rigorously working away at an answering letter.  He pulled out a letter much more formally addressed.

*****

His Royal Majesty, King Jonathan of Conte;

            I am to understand that the Empress writes to you and her Mother with information of our family.  We all are very well.  I have arranged for my son, Prince Otadan to be presented to court in two weeks.  Miliani is also doing very well.  I am glad that Kalisin was able to bear me a son that will inherit my thrown.  I am also pleased that she has born me a daughter.  As Emperor of Carthak, and upholding the various traditions, most of my time and efforts must go to teaching my son all that is required of him.  Kalisin has been a perfect Empress to her people, by fulfilling her first duty in providing me with an heir and with all the care that she has already given to our Kingdom.  All our people love her.  With all that has been given to my country by the arrival of Kalisin, I would not begrudge her a daughter of her own to raise.

            Our Kingdom fairs well, Cousin.  We have had bountiful crops this spring and summer and are looking forward to a mild winter.  I do however wish to ask for your advice on a matter that has been plaguing my country for 2 years now.  I humbly accept any advice you may give, for you have reigned in your Kingdom longer than I have in mine.  We are plagued by militant band of Rebels lead by a man named Onam.  Apparently, he is a Cartheki mage from my Uncle's Court begrudged by the lose of his slaves and rights.  We do not however, have reference to any mage by the name of 'Onam' in our record books.  He has gathered a rather strong group of pro-slave supporters against us.  He rains terror on unsuspecting villages in the southern reaches of our Kingdom.  He is ever illusive and refuses to be known.  I would ask your advice in dealing with not only this one man, but with the rather large resistance movement that has been born from his beliefs.  

With great respect,

Emperor Kaddar of Carthak

*****

            Jonathan set the letter aside to think more about later.  This rebel mage sounded very familiar.  If he remembered correctly, and he knew he did, this mage had attacked his subjects here in Tortall.  Jon had a moment of foreshadowing.  This mage would bring great pain to this realm, he was sure of that.

*****

            "Papa?" whispered a shaking Jade into the dark room.  "Papa, are you awake?"  Daine had always been a deep sleeper.  It took the wailing sounds of a newborn or a meteor hitting the earth to wake her up.  Therefore, what developed was a very close bond between father and daughter.  When Jade had trouble sleeping, she would go to Numair.  He loved it.  He wanted Jade to trust him with all her fears and worries.  It also gave Daine time to rest, since most of her day was spent with the crazy girl anyways.

            "Hmm?" Numair woke from his slumber.  He turned his head towards the door.  "What's the matter, sweetling?"

            He heard the little sounds of Jade's feet as she walked closer to him.  "Papa, I had a bad dream…," whimpered Jade quietly.

            Numair untangled his arms from around Daine's body and shifted to face his daughter.  "What about?"

            Jade sniffed pitifully.  "I dreamed a bad man came to get me.  He took Mamma away forever and then came after me."

            Numair sat up slightly and picked her up.  Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and her tiny legs around his chest.  "There now, sweetling.  There is no bad man.  He can't hurt you or Mamma," he cooed to her shaking form.  He rubbed her back comfortingly.  He felt his heart twist when he felt her tiny body shaking with fear.  She'd never had a dream bad enough to make her shake.  After a few minutes of her quiet sniffles and his hushed words, she stopped shaking.  She still clung to him with a grip that would surprise most people.  He tried to think of a way to cheer her up.  "Hey now, I know of someone that could cheer you up.  What do you say to waking up your spider?"  Jade lifted her head from his shoulder and sniffed while looking at him.  She nodded.  "Why don't you call his name, quietly, so he'll wake up?"

            "Spiiider?" she whispered.  "Spiiiiiider?"

            Numair used his hand to form a little pretend spider that crawled around on fingers.  He crawled his hand up onto Jade's leg with movements like a tiny spider.

            "There he is, Papa!" Jade whispered.

            "So it is.  Oh, friendly spider…" Numair spoke to his hand, "Jade here has had a bad dream.  I was wondering if you could possibly cheer her up a bit."  His hand did a little pretend jump of spider height and rapidly climbed up Jade's arm.  She smiled at her friendly spider.  The pretend spider than crawled up to Jade's cheek and placed a little pretend spider kiss on it.  Jade smiled warmly.  The pretend spider that proceeded to tickle her neck.  Jade laughed.

            "Do you feel better?" Jade nodded happily.  The little spider made a big pretend yawn.  "I think your friendly spider is tired, Jade.  Why don't you say good night to him?"

            Jade smiled, placed a small kiss on Numair's hand and whispered, "Good night, friendly spider."  Numair's hand gave her another pretend spider kiss and crawled off.  "Papa?"

            "Yes, sweetling?"

            "Can I sleep with you and Mamma?"

            Numair smiled warmly.  "Of coarse you can, sweetling." He picked her up and placed her in between his and Daine's body, placing a kiss on her forehead.  She shifted and finally rested on her back, her mouth open and breathing heavily in slumber.  Numair watched for close to an hour as his wife and daughter slept peacefully.

*****

A/N:  I got the spider idea from when I was a little girl.  My father would always use the pretend spider to cheer me up or when we were at restaurants and I got board.  This whole bad dream scene is like, directly out of my life.  I love my father very much…I am a daddy's girl, even at the age of 20.  I loved my friendly spider when I was a little girl.  Sometimes I'd squash my pretend spider, but he always came back to life…I dedicate this chapter to all the wonderful fathers out there.  And to those wonderful men that aren't real fathers, but sure as hell are anyways.  


	5. Sunrise

            I finished it! I finished the next chapter!  WEEHOO!  These last five weeks have been really hard for me.  And quite frankly, I don't think they are going to get any better.  I only have three semesters of college left, so everything is getting really intense.  I will try and write at least one chapter a week.  Maybe I can squeeze in various chapters when I get short breaks.  I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.  I probably will write another one shortly.  Thanks for all the encouragement.  I really needed it.  OK! Enjoy

*****

The Uncontrollable

'Sunrise'

*****

            Daine opened her eyes to the sunlight streaming into her window.  Squinting and blinking at the bright rays of light, she shifted slightly only to feel something lying across her stomach.  Her eyes scrunched up in confusion as she looked down the length of her body.  Was that a leg? The blurriness of sleep began to fade from her mind.  She lifted her head slightly to get a better look at the oddly placed limb.  Yup.  Definitely a leg.  More specifically, her five-year-old daughter's leg.  Jade lay across her mother's stomach dead to the world.  One bare leg spread across her stomach, the other hanging to the side.  Her little face was buried in the sheets and mattress between Daine's arm and torso; both arms tucked underneath her little body for further warmth.  Daine turned her head slightly.  Numair was asleep on his side facing her.  His arm swung over Jade's body and rested possessively at Daine's hip.  His snores sounding through the entire room.

            It was rare that Daine would wake up to find Jade in the bed with her.  It was only on the rarest of occasions, when she was hit with a particularly vicious nightmare that she would come tiptoeing into the room.  Jade was growing at an ungodly rate.  Daine wished she could stay little forever.  Life was just too perfect.  Her little canon ball had more energy then a hummingbird, but she was growing to be a very interesting young girl.  She was stubborn,_ excessively stubborn.  Once she set her mind to something, there was no going back.  She was brimming with an inner light that sometimes scared Daine.  She had caught herself on a number of occasions watching her daughter with interest.  She would watch as she played in the gardens humming or singing a simple tune with such life that she almost looked like an immortal sprite.  The trees and flowers around her fit so well with her.  And sometimes…sometimes she would see Jade's eyes and it almost seemed as if the green flashed and moved brilliantly.  Daine sighed and looked them over._

            The rays of light that had woken her from her sleep streamed directly onto their bodies.  Numair's black hair shown magnificently in the morning light, his face relaxed in sleep.  She always loved the way he looked when he slept.  Her eyes shifted to Jade once more.  The small light blue nightgown almost sparkled with life as the rays illuminated her small body.  Her hair, nearly black and a mess of curls had the same life Numair's hair had in the morning rays.  Her tanned arms and legs seemingly lighter in the bright light.  The small particles of dust, illuminated beautifully by the rays of light, floated softly in the air.  All Daine could do was sit and watch as the man she loved most in all the realms and the girl she loved most slept in peace.

            Jade shifted slightly and let out an audible breath.  She brought up her little head up from the bed and blinked sleepily.  Daine smiled with amusement.  Jade's mess of nearly black curls was completely wild; some of it fluffy and ruffled, some of it pressed against her head from sleeping on it.  Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks flushed from sleep.  A long red mark ran across her cheek from where it had been resting on her arm.  She looked around in confusion for a moment before her eyes came to rest on Daine, still completely dazed.  Daine smiled brightly while pushing some of the curls from her daughter's face.  "Good morning, sweet."

            Jade blinked again and mumbled sleepily.  "Morning, Mama…"  Then, Jade let her head fall back on the bed and shifted slightly trying to go back to sleep.

            Daine laughed quietly and whispered, "Aren't you going to get up now?"  Jade's only reply was to shake her head negatively.  Daine smirked.  "You sure? Because Papa's still asleep."

            Jade's head shot up, her eyes wide as she looked at her mother.  She swung her head around to look at her father.  He breathed in heavily and breathed back out, creating an interesting snore.  Jade looked back over at Daine with an evil smile plastered across her face.  Daine wondered for a moment if the God of mischief had taken an all too big interest in her daughter.

            Now fully awake and excited, Jade climbed to her knees and leaned over her father with keen interest.  "Papa?" she whispered as quietly as possible.  When he made no response, the evil grin again plastered itself across her face.  She struggled to her feet and as quietly as she could got closer to him.  Numair shifted onto his back with a snort.  Jade's smile turned positively wicked.  She looked back at Daine quickly one more time before she turned back whispered a quiet, "I got you this time Papa…" and then jumped up as high as she could and over him.

            Before she even reached the peek of her jump, Numair's eyes snapped open.  He reached up with his hands snatching her from the air with a yell of triumph.  Jade screeched in surprise so loudly, Daine jumped in surprise as well.  As he brought her down fast as lightning to the bed, he then proceeded to attack her with his hands.  Jade screamed and giggled in laughter.  Daine let out a laugh as Jade begged Numair to stop.

            "AAAAAAA….Papa…..STOP…..PLEASE………EEEEEEEEEEE……..hahahahhahhaaaa…..hehehehehee. Papa…nooooo!  AAAA, stop….hehehehehe"  She curled up into a little ball protecting herself from the tickling as she screeched in crazy giggles.  Finally, Numair slowed and stopped, a smile plastered across his face.  Jade lay there, breathing heavily as Daine continued to laugh.  "Aaawww, Papa.  I had you that time," Jade said with slight disappointment.

            Numair quirked as mile and then pinched her nose.  "You'll just have to keep trying then, won't you?"

            Jade leapt up and onto Numair.  He let out a loud breath.  "Oomph!" The two proceeded to tickle each other.  Daine got up from the bed with a laugh, saying she would go get Jade's cloth ready.  Walking into the living area of their rooms, Daine stopped suddenly.  She turned back around and looked at one of the plants they had in the corner.  She narrowed her eyes and walked over to it, kneeling down.  "What?" she breathed.  The plant had been nearly dead yesterday.  Its leaves wilted and brown. Now it was firm, bright green and glossy.  Perfectly healthy.  "How?..." Daine let out a breath as she stood up from her kneeling position.  Could things possibly become any more strange?

*****

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.  Gives you something to think about huh?  Ok...next chapter coming MUCH sooner then this last one.  SMILE

Karigan


	6. Destiny is a Game of Tag

: ) I said I'd get the next chapter up soon. And LOOK!  You all have the snow to thank for this.  If you live in Maryland or know what Maryland got the last 3 weeks you know what I'm talking about.  

**Important: I've gotten a number of reviews asking why two smart mages like Numair and Daine can't figure out she has plant magic.  Well, we have to consider that they don't even know how the plant magic works in the plants…let alone know that a human could possibly have it.  It is a matte of circumstance.  They know the forest has _something magical, but they don't know what.  They haven't connected one with the other.  But they will, eventually.  Just wait.  Plus, at the end of this story you will find out just how Jade's magic works.  It is very complex._**

Hope you like it.  On with the SNOW…I mean…show…..hehehee : )

*****

The Uncontrollable

Destiny is a Game of Tag

*****

A few months later:

            "Jade! Just hold still for 10 seconds and you'll be out the door!" Daine grit out as she tried to braid Jade's long curly hair.

            "Mama hurry, hurry, hurry!  They already started!  I'm going to miss it!"

            "You can join in anytime, Jade.  You'll have a better time if your hair isn't flying around your face.  Now just hold still."

            Jade bounced on her toes in anxiousness.  All the children were out in the back practice courts playing tag, and she didn't want to miss a second of it.  She jumped up slightly, trying to look out the window into the court.  "Mama! They started! HURRY!

            All the girl's movements made it near impossible for Daine to finish braiding.  Jade had hair that reached down to the middle of her back, and that was just when dry.  All the curls made it seem shorted.  When wet, it reached down to the very bottom of her back.  Despite always having to push it out of her face, Jade refused to get it cut.  Jade jumped suddenly in impatience, causing the hair to slip out of Daine's hands.  It quickly unraveled.  "Jade! Now look.  You undid your braid."

            Jade turned around with a look of complete pleading.  "I don't need a braid! Please, Mama.  I just want to go play."

            Daine sighed and nodded.  "Go."  Jade squeaked in joy, hugged her mother and ran past her out the door.  "But I don't want to hear you complain about your hair getting in your way the whole day!" she called after her.  She let her head fall back, still kneeling on the floor.  It really was useless to try to get things done on schedule.  She didn't know why she kept trying despite 5 and a half years of not succeeding.  She groaned while lifting herself up.  27.  She was 27 and FELT 37.  She walked into Jade's room to find Numair sprawled out on her bed.  Numair had woken up with Jade to get her ready for the day.  Daine had given her fruit and juice for breakfast and then had tried to braid her hair, seeing as five years was still not enough for Numair to learn how to braid.  The energy used to start the day should be considered equivalent to a full day of page training.

            Daine smiled, walked over and flopped down on top of Numair's chest.  "I don't think I can do this anymore.  I have no more energy."

            Numair chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close.  "You're still young Magelet.  Not even 30.  How could you possibly be out of energy?"  She smiled.

            "Summer is almost over."

            "Thank you, Captain Obvious.  OUCH!" he yelped at her ribbing.

            "I'm serious, Numair."

            He smiled.  "I know. I'll start looking for a tutor."  He sighed.

            Daine giggled.  "You just don't think anyone could teach her as well as you could, oh great Mage."

            He chuckled.  "That's quite right."

            "I want her to have the best education.  You've started her off so well already.  She knows how to read and is already writing and counting.  She is only five.  We can't expect too much out of her.  We could send her to the best school in the city.  She'd be with children her own age."

            Numair shifted and turned so that they were facing each other.  "But she's smart.  Smarted than most the other children.  Putting her in a school with children that can't keep up with her will only hold her back.  A tutor is the best option.  One on one.  That way Jade can go at her own pace.  I'd do it myself if I had the time.  But you and I have responsibilities that wouldn't permit a regular schedule for Jade.  Yes.  A tutor is really the only option."

            Daine sighed.  "I just want to make sure she has friends.  I don't want her to be left out.  Cast aside."

            Numair hugged her close.  "This is not like your village in Scanra, Magelet.  They won't cast her aside because she's different or smarter."

            "I know."  Silence extended for a few minutes.  Then Daine sat up and stretched.  "So…a tutor then.  Will you be doing the looking?  I think you are slight bit pickier concerning Jade's education than I am." She laughed as he snorted.

*****

            Numair stretched his arms above his head.  Two-hour long meetings with the magistrates were sometimes more then he could take.  They never shut their mouths.  He'd heard the bell chime the 11th hour a bit back and decided to pick up Jade for lunch from the courts.  As he made his way down the halls, his mind drifted.

            He'd already made several inquiries into a full time tutor for Jade.  The responses had been promising but none seemed to catch his attention.  Except for one.  A teacher from Scanra.  She had attended the schools for mages in the city of Minerva, the best of the Scanran schools.  She was a refugee that had fled when the new king began executing all non-Scanran bloodlines from the noble families.  She was still young, but apparently, highly recommended from the city of the Gods.  It looked promising indeed.  Jade deserved a first rate education and frankly, he intended to make sure she got one.  She wasn't noble born or she would have been with those of nobility.  It didn't matter.  Numair alone could pay three times over for the best educators.  Had Daine been on her own, she could have as well.

            He sighed, considering.  Jade was showing no signs of having the gift or even wild magic.  But she had something.  Her aura was strange.  The numerous times he had checked it had his curiosity peeked.  It almost seemed unstable.  Sometimes it would be this bright green glow all around her and at other times, it almost seemed to seep into her skin, hiding from the air.  Sometimes, he couldn't even see it.  He'd spent days in the library over the years in curiosity.  The gift was always there, from birth, though weak.  Wild magic…well, Jade didn't seem to have the same natural interest in animals as Daine did.  He had been sure Jade would have either of the two, if not a mix.  He stopped momentarily in consideration.  She could have a mix.  Perhaps it is why her aura was so unpredictable.  It's mixing.  He started walking again.  More time would be needed to contemplate that subject.

            He took the final stops into a corridor that lead to the courts.  They were barely lit and even with it being light out, shadows cast everywhere.  Something twitched in his memory.  Something distant.  He reached the open door that allowed light to stream in and turned to the open air.  His mind screamed in recognition as his senses narrowed.  He heard laughter and screaming as if from a distance.  Somehow, he picked hers out.  Her screeching laughter filled his mind as he turned the corner into open air.  His eyes immediately fell upon her, turned away from him wearing breeches and a tunic.  Long dark curly hair swung in the air as she turned to face him.  As always, he was caught by the green in her eyes.  Her dark beautifully arched eyebrows matched her hair and eyelashes making her eyes even brighter.  Her nose, small and pert, with its dusting of freckles was her mother's.  Her stubborn chin and small pink mouth on her tanned skin.  He couldn't help but notice how much she had grown.  She would be taller than her mother, of that he was sure.  Her eyes caught his and her entire face lit into a beautiful smile.  He felt something deep within him stir.  A love so deep he only felt it with one other person.  It was different, of course, but every bit as deep.  And there…beyond all his senses…was vanilla.

            Then everything again faded back into focus.  He blinked, repeatedly.  Jade was running towards him at full steam.  Coming back to himself, he reached down and swung her into his arms when she reached him, loving the sound of his daughter's laughs.  She was breathing heavily, with dirt plastered to her clothing; but her smile reached from ear to ear.  "Did you have fun?"

            She nodded happily.  "Sure did Papa.  I was only it two times," she said holding up two fingers.

            "Really? Wow! That's great…" chimes rung over head.  "What time is it?" he asked.

            Jade listened.  Counting each bell in her mind.  She smiled when it finished.  "12!"

            "Or?" Numair continued.

            She scrunched up her nose in thought, then smiled.  "Noon!"

            Numair smiled.  "Great job!  How about we go meet your Mother for lunch, hmm?"

            Jade smiled as her stomach rumbled.  "Ya!..I mean, Yes," she corrected at his raised eyebrows.  He set her down and they walked hand in hand to the dining hall, Jade chatting about Gregory falling face first in the dirt and Numair contemplating living the first vision of the child firebird's gift.

*****

Wow! Fun chapter.  REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!

Karigan


	7. The Blacksmith's Daughter

            Ok…next chapter.  You have the snow to thank for this.  I'm trying to make up for the disgustingly long amount of time I didn't update.  This is a sweet chapter, but it is also important.  Jade meets someone that will be an important part of her life for a long time.  Enjoy

*****

The Uncontrollable

The Blacksmith's Daughter

*****

            She loved the feel of soft grass blades under her bare feet.  She loved the gentle slide of the surprisingly cool grass on a hot day.  She loved the feel of it even more when it was on her neck.  She would spend countless minutes running her arms back and forth while sprawled out on the grass just to feel the hundreds of glossy blades.  If there was one thing Jade loved doing more then climbing trees, it was rolling around on fresh green grass.  For all of her five years could provide, she couldn't remember enjoying anything quite so much as that.

            So it wasn't rare to find the small five-year-old out in the gardens, lying in the grass, her hair fanned out around her, arms outstretched, and feet constantly wiggling through the blades of grass.  She would close her eyes and just inhale the scent of flowers and pollen, sometimes rolling onto her stomach just to feel the cold softness of green on her face.

            Moments like these made her different.  Different in that she didn't think anyone else got such calming satisfaction from lying on grass as she did.  She needed that calm.  Every so often, she had to come here and just breathe.  Most of the time, she felt as if electricity ran rampant through her veins, gaining speed by the hour, making her hyperactive or nervous.  Even at the tender age of five, she knew when to much was too much.  That's when she would sneak out.  To the gardens if she had to, like at night.  But if she could manage, she would go into the royal forest and just bury herself in freshly fallen leaves.  She'd been doing that for as long as she could remember too.  Sneaking out into the gardens; often times being caught.  She was different.  It was obvious even to her young mind.

            She watched clouds float by as she took deep breaths, feeling her blood slow its ragging speed.  Well, to be honest, she didn't know if it was her blood or just her mind running so wild.  She just assumed it was her blood because she would feel it in her fingers and toes as well as her head, the pressure.  Finally, she sat up and stretched her short arms and legs.  As if the spell of calm snapped, she bounced to her feet and began to skip back towards the garden walls, feeling the rush in her body begin immediately.  Maybe she could ask Mama to take her into the city and she could have fun looking at all the wonderful things set out in the marketplace.  She turned a corner and tumbled into something hard.

            A girl about the age of 8 looked down at Jade.  "_Who_ are _you_?" she sneered.

            She smiled brightly.  "My name is Jade!  What's yours?"

            The older girl snickered.  "My name is Milona Borinae.  It means beautiful," she said with an upturned nose.  "You…That's the silliest name I've ever heard.  Where'd you _get it from?"_

            Jade looked confused.  "My parents…"

            She laughed.  "Well, that's obvious, _stupid.  Where did _they_ get it from?"_

            Jade frowned.  "My papa named me that; because I have green eyes."

            "Humph.  Well it's a stupid name.  Does that stupid name have _anymore to it, or is that it?"_

            "Salmalin…" Jade said, unsure of the taller girl.  "Jade Salmalin"

            The older girl's eyes went wide.  "Your Master Salmalin's daughter…figures.  He's so _stupid_ he has to spend all day in the library looking things up."  She laughed at her own joke.

            Jade narrowed her eyes.  "My Papa is _not stupid.  He's a great mage.  And so is my Mama."_

            "Your Mama?  Well, my mother told me that your mother is a bastard," the girl said with disgust.  "Her name was Sarrasri before she got married.  Only children who don't know who their fathers are are named after their mothers."  She laughed harder.

            Jade felt the heat rise to her cheeks anger.  "Take that back!"

            The older girl looked down at her.  "No.  In fact, I'm so sure your mother is a bastard, I bet you are too.  I bed Master Numair isn't your real father either," she sniggered.

            It didn't make much sense to her.  Being all of five, Jade didn't really understand the implications of what the older girl had just said.  But she wasn't stupid.  The tone of voice gave it away.  "Take it back now!"

            Suddenly, Milona's hands were on Jades shoulders, pushing her back violently.  Jade tumbled backwards, falling on her bottom.  After the initial shock, Jade felt the anger churn furiously into silent rage.  She felt her little body shake with the pounding of her blood.  She looked up at the girl in livid fury.

            Milona flinched as she noticed the little girl's brilliant green eyes harden to hard pure dark green of anger.  She looked down at the girl.  "Don't run into me again."

            Jade, for all the anger growing inside of her, didn't answer.  She looked down at the ground, blinking away tears of fury.  Trying to hide her face in her hair, she concentrated hard on her hand that gripped the grass hard, ignoring the girl.  That's when she noticed it.  Her green eyes widened slightly and she caught her breath at her hand.  The grass surrounding her hand glowed a deep rich green.  It wasn't her hand.  The grass that surrounded it.

            "Did you hear me?!" demanded Milona.

            Jade snapped her head back up, blinking in surprise.  "Huh?"

            "I said if you run into me one more time, I won't be nearly as nice as I've been so watch ou…"

            "Milona…go away!" came a feminine voice.

            Both Milona and Jade snapped their heads to the side.  A girl of maybe seven or eight walked over.  She had long braided blonde hair reaching to the middle of her back.  Sky blue eyes set in pale skin snapped in anger.

            "I beg your pardon?" asked Milona indignantly.

            "I said…go away.  Or are you deaf?"

            Milona narrowed her eyes at the girl and then turned to Jade.  Sneering she turned and walked off, hands on hips.

            Jade breathed in deep breaths, desperately trying to get a hold of the pressure inside her body.  It didn't seem to be working; she could feel her shoulders shaking.  "You alright?" She didn't look up.  Didn't want t have to listen to anyone else saying such horrible things about her parents, even if she didn't know what they meant.  The girl bent down in front of her and with a steady hand pushed some black curls away from her hidden face.  Jade jerked.  "Hey.  You alright?"  Jade nodded jerkily; maybe she would go away.  She felt cool fingers brush away tears she hadn't known were falling down her face.  "Don't worry about Milona.  She's mean to everyone."  Jade nodded again; this time not as stiffly.  "What's your name?" Well, _that_ question had gotten her shoved to the ground the last time asked.  She wasn't going to make _that_ mistake again.  "Hmm, well…If you don't want to tell me your name, that's alright.  I don't mind.  My name is Amena…Amena Cassidy.  My Papa's the palace blacksmith.  And my Mama's a midwife.  I've seen you around, though I've never been able to ask your name.  You seem nice and so I think we could be really good friends…"  Jade hadn't noticed her face lift and the amazed stare she was giving the talkative girl.  Before she knew it…

            "Jade," she whispered.

            The girl stopped mid rant.  "Huh?"

            "My name.  It's Jade…Jade Salmalin."

            Amena smiled.  For the first time, Jade noticed how pretty the girl was.  Not beautiful…but pretty.  Sweet.  It was strange.  Jade felt a strange pull inside her towards the older girl.  A good pull.  The girl took Jade's hand and hefted her up to her feet.  "I saw a cat in the stables earlier getting ready to have kittens.  You want to go see?"  Jade nodded enthusiastically, noticing the hold Amena still had on her tiny hand.  She felt a smile spread across her face as she looked up from the hand up to Amena's face.  And quick as that, they were off, hand in hand, to go see the new kittens; leaving behind a patch of nearly scorched grass in the gardens, completely forgotten.

*****

Hope you enjoyed that chapter.  Tell me what you think. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!! Eeeeehehehhee…I'm REVIEW mad.  SMILE

Karigan


	8. Market Place

This chapter is the beginning of a really close bond between Jade and Amena.  This bond is really important throughout the rest of the stories.  In addition, Jade's magic (whatever it is) gets its first real go here.  Next chapter will most likely be up within a day or two because I'm already working on it.

Karigan

*****

The Uncontrollable

'Market place'

*****

            It might have confused people if they knew.  If they had any idea of just how much she understood about human nature, they might have been suspicious about even more.  But she certainly didn't see anything bad in it.  Why would she? Adults did the same thing – they observed and watched, learning from others.  Children were no different – how else were they supposed to figure things out? So the simple fact that Jade was more observant than even above average intelligent adults did not register to anyone, not even herself.  Who really knows why? The simple fact that Jade had figured out the benefits of observation long before other children was just that – a simple fact.  So when she began to see Amena as something more than just an acquaintance, her natural impulse to observe the older girl kicked in.

            The first thing she noticed about Amena was the blonde's dislike of silence.  She would start talking right out of the clear blue sky if conversation took a pause more than 3 seconds.  It almost seemed like a nervous habit.  There was, however, a slight difference between Amena's talking tendencies and various other girl's chatter.  When Amena talked, she made sure that everyone within a 50-foot radius would also join the conversation.  The result of which was not really Amena talking and everyone listening, like with other girls; it was everyone talking and Amena contributing.

            The next thing Jade noticed was Amena's rather intense protectiveness.  Within a week of knowing each other, Amena would defend, violently if necessary, the small five-year old from even the smallest of threats.  It was not just with Jade that Amena was protective.  It extended to every aspect of the girl's life.  She took great pride in her family and friends.  Curiously, even at the young age of eight, Amena had developed a strange sense of nationalism.  The King was the magnificent leader of Tortall that kept not only their cities but also the smallest of villages prosperous and protected.

            Nevertheless, the most intriguing characteristic about Amena that had Jade's mind racing was the girl's sneakiness.  Amena could get out of nearly any sticky situation with talk.  And if she had too, as a last resort, could physically trick anyone Jade knew (except for uncle George…Amena was still cleaning the latrines for trying to trick him into leaving one of the work rooms so she could get her sneaky hands on some dyes she could use to color Milona's hair green).  The odd part about Amena's cunningness was her absolute refusal to use it against any friends or family.  She could not physically bring herself to trick those she cared for.  Oh, she never lied; in fact, that was yet another interesting fact about Amena.  Even in the middle of talking around someone, she would always be brutally honest, which only made her sneakiness even more amazing.  She achieved it with complete honesty.  There was much to be said about someone with such odd ideas of ethics.

            "Jade, let's go!" yelled Amena from the horse stables.  She ran past a group of stable hands and dashed through the haystacks.  Turning she yelled again.  "Move those legs Jade!"

            "This isn't fair! You're the one who put the berry liquor in the Lioness' cup! Why am I running? And _you have longer legs than I do.  And _you're_ older," puffed Jade from behind._

            "That's not an excuse, Jade," laughed Amena.  "Come on."  They ran passed the training pages and into the entrance yard.

            Jade panted roughly, falling onto a bench with a sigh.  "I don't think we're going to get away with this one Amena."

            "Nonsense," retorted Amena.  "We just have to be invisible for a few hours."  She looked around the entrance yards with critical eyes.  "We're too easy to find here.  We have to get off palace grounds."

            Jade stared at her with mouth agape.  "In the middle of the afternoon? We can't leave the castle without permission Amena.  If Papa finds out I left palace grounds he'll have me pealing potatoes for a whole week.  Do you know how long it takes for someone as little as me to peal potatoes?"

            Amena smirked as she peaked over the benches.  "You're almost six, Jade.  I'm sure you can peel _lots_ of potatoes."  Looking towards the entrance, she paused for a moment before grabbing onto Jade's hand and tugging.

            "Wha...," grunted Jade as she was tugged to her feet.

            "Now's our chance!" breathed Amena.  Sneaking around the side of the palace walls, she pulled Jade towards the entrance.  Just as the guard was opening the doors for a group of riders to come in, the two girls snuck out.  They didn't stop until they reached the end of the first street.  Breathing heavily, they looked at each other and proceeded to break out into fits of laughter.  "I can't believe it was that easy!" cried Amena.

            Catching her breath, Jade warned, "If we get caught, we're both in _big trouble."_

            "We sure are," laughed Amena.  Jade laughed with her.  "What do you want to do first?"

            Jade's eyes grew large as saucers.  "I have 5 silver nobles…we could go to the market place and get some treats…then go out to the forest."

            Amena smiled.  "Good idea.  Let's go" Jade smiled as she trotted along after the 8 year old girl.  Amena was one of the few girls she knew that didn't mind getting dirty.  Amena wore breeches most of the time and her hair, more often than not, was pulled back in a tight braid.

            She hadn't expected the Corrus market to be so full.  She could hardly fit through the mass of people, and she was five.  She felt the proximity of so many people in a way she hadn't ever before.  It felt as if she was being surrounded and before she knew it, she felt herself begin to shake.  Her blood began to run wildly through her system and she could almost feel the burning of her veins.  She gripped Amena's hand and took deep breaths.  Amena turned her head and looked at her questioningly.  Jade smiled slightly and nodded.  "Lots of people…" she said loudly over the noise of the crowd.

            Amena nodded and pulled them through a group of men.  "I think they sell candy apples over here."  They stepped up to the wooden counter.  Jade could hardly see over the edge.  Amena pulled her hand away and reached into her pocket.  She pulled out some coins and counted out what she needed.  Jade pulled out her money and handed it over to Amena.  Amena reached up and tried to get the woman's attention, but it didn't seem to be working.  She jumped a little and yelled out "Excuse me" several times.  After a few minutes, Amena set her face into a frown and looked down at Jade.  "Stay here.  I'm going to try and get her attention.  I'll be right back. All right?"

            Jade nodded.  Amena pulled away and walked around the stand looking for something to stand on.  Jade pushed herself back into the wooden corner and looked around.  She had never seen so many people in her life.  She'd been to the market with her mother before, but it had never been quite _this_ crowded.  She gulped as her blood picked up its pace once again.  Her eyes scanned the crowds wildly, every so often looking at Amena a few feet away trying to get attention.  She saw a man walk by that was nearly black in filth, then a woman who surely was wearing a wig…and was that…was that a dog or a cat? She wasn't sure.

            She looked back for Amena and froze when she couldn't see her.  "Amena?" she called.  "Amena?"  Suddenly, her blood took a leap from racing to pumping madly through her system.  The intensity was so sever, she almost blacked out.  "Amena?!" She looked around wildly.  She took a step away from the wooded corner so she could see further.  Without warning, a man jogged by knocking her to her knees.  Jade began to shake violently.  "AMENA!" She jumped to her feet and tried to get around the stand but was pushed back by several people.  She diverted around them before realizing she couldn't get through.  She tried another way and pushed though.  When she looked up at the stand, she almost cried.  This wasn't a candy apple stand…they were selling fish at this one.  She turned around and tried to make her way back.  This time she came upon a bread stand.  The blood pounded mercilessly.  Her voice cracked as she yelled out again, "AMENA!"

            A couple of older boys ran by and knocked her off her feet roughly.  She landed on her knees and hands and felt her head pound in fear.  She felt the first traces of panic begin to take over her system.  She was lost! Very lost!  She backed up into a leg and jumped away.  With wild eyes, she felt her throat clog up in terror.  Then her eyes burned white hot.  Screaming filled her ears as everyone suddenly began to run around.  Absolute Panic filled her and she felt a small explosion within her.

*****

            This was ridiculous.  It really was.  If she could just get that woman's attention, they could be out of this crowded hole sooner.  Amena climbed up on top of a crate and tried to make herself taller.  She was through being polite.  "Excuse me!" she screeched at the old woman.  The white haired witch turned and glared at her with a resounding, "What?"

            "Two. _Please. In a box."  The woman glared at her but grabbed two caramel apples and placed them in a box.  Snatching the money from Amena's hand, she told her in no uncertain words to learn some manners, to which Amena promptly stuck her tongue out too._

            That's when she tripped.  The crates tipped over, taking her with them.  She landed behind them with a thud.  The old woman crowed in laughter.  Amena glared daggers before dragging herself up.  Picking up the box, she dusted herself off and walked back to Jade.

            "Jade?" called Amena.  She looked around curiously.  "Jade?"  Amena looked around and felt ice cold fingers surround her.  "Jade!"  She looked around frantically.  "Jade!" Where was she?  This was not good.  Jade was only five.  She didn't know how to get back to the castle from here.  She ran over to some boxes and climbed up them.  Looking over the crowd, she yelled out, "JADE!"

            All the sudden, the Pine tree that stood not 100 feet away in the middle of the market groaned so loudly, everyone in the market place stopped to stare.  It's large branches slowly bent and stretched.  Bright green light surrounded the tree as it continued to stretch itself.  The crowd seemed mesmerized by the moving tree.  Then, one of the branches snapped at the base from the movement.  It fell to the ground with a loud thud, breaking everyone out of their stunned curiosity.

            It started with one scream…then, all the people began to scream and cower away from the bewitched tree.  Amena almost peed herself as she realized all the people were going to panic.  "JAAADE!" she screeched over the heads of the now running people.  Someone ran into the boxes she was standing on and she fell to the ground.  Dragging herself up she pushed through the crowd, trying to find the small black haired girl.  She froze when she felt the ground tremble underneath her.  "What?"

            She screeched as dry roots shot from the packed ground and tangled with whatever came in sight.  Suddenly the screaming crowd roared in fear.  A full out stampede followed.  Amena ran through the crowd desperately trying to find Jade.  The roots didn't seem to be attacking people, just…coming out of the ground.  Green light surrounded them too.  She was shoved around various times by screaming people.  "Jade!"

            She was on the verge of tears when she suddenly spotted a huddled form across the walk near a wood stand.  She plunged through the crowd towards the form.  A man was shoved to the ground in front of her and promptly trampled on.  Amena's heart raced madly as she got closer to the curled up form.  She noticed the little body shaking madly.  She also noticed the dirt around her glowing bright green.

She threw herself to her knees, grabbed onto the forms shoulders and yelled, "Jade!"

            Jade snapped her head up from between her knees in surprise.  Amena nearly swallowed her won tongue when she saw Jade's face.  The five-year-old's green eyes blazed madly.  The deep rich green glowing so that almost no white could be seen.  As if Jade suddenly  recognized Amena, the glowing green died out and the normal brilliant green took over.  Tears welled up in Jade's eyes and she through her arms around Amena.

            Amena stood up with Jade attached to her.  The corner they were in would last only a bit longer, she could hear the cracking of the wood stand that blocked the crowds from them.  "We have to get out of here, Jade!" she yelled over the noise.  She clutched Jade's hand in hers and said, "what ever happens, don't let go", before plunging into the crowd.  They heard the wood splinter and give way behind them.

            *****

I really had an hard time with this chapter…I'm not sure why…tell me what you think.  Also, I will be starting an update mailing list.  If you want to be on it give me your email address.  I will send notification of update, any news, and probably even attach the chapter to it ( because fanfiction.net doesn't always post it as fast as I'd like.) REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!


	9. The End of Summer

            A/N: Next Chapter WEEHOO!! OK…enjoy!

Karigan

*****

The Uncontrollable

The End of Summer

*****

            "The Cartheki Prime Minister reported 14 separate attacks within the last four months.  All in the Southern provinces and all under a Silver flag.  They've killed near 200 hundred villagers and have scorched all the land on them.  Jon, this is getting out of hand.  The prime minister says the country may suffer from a late winter famine if the farms can't produce enough food for the cities.  They've taken all measures to fight these rebels…but they never strike the same place twice and they are showing no pattern.  They haven't even offered an explanation for their actions.  It's as if they _like_ to kill and destroy."  Gary leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face.  "He has asked for assistance in tracking down the leader of these attacks.  The Emperor would ask of you your best information gatherer so that they can't end this."

            Jon sighed.  Looking around the room, he asked, "Well…?"

            "This rebel leader seems to be trying to get some kind of point across.  But we are quite certain that this is not just a Cartheki problem.  We are sure it is the same man who brought the rebel army into Tortall and attacked us," supplied Alanna.  "Aside from the fact that that we are on allied terms with Carthak, it is probably in our best interest to help get rid of him."

            "The Emperor has some of the best spies in the world.  If they can't figure out who it is…how are we supposed to do any better?" Raoul put in.

            "We have George," stated Numair.

            "These are Cartheki rebels.  They are not going to have any northerners in there.  George wouldn't be able to get in there," argued Daine.

            George raised an eyebrow at Daine.  "Now lass, you don't have to go insultin' me like that.  You haven't seen me work my magic."

            Daine blushed.  "George, I'm not calling into question your abilities.  It's just fact, you don't resemble a Carthekian in the slightest.  It just won't work."

            George thought that over.  His eyes landed on Numiar a moment and then twinkled with an idea.  No lass, your right.  I don't look anything like a Carthekian.  But Numair here does."

            Numair's head snapped up.  "Huh?"

            "I can take Master Numair with me to Carthak.  I can show him a trick or two about the trade and we can figure out who the mystery man is between the two of us.  I'm willing to share the glory." He smiled toothily at Numair.

            Jon raised an eyebrow.  "Send in my best information gatherer _and_ my best war mage?  George, I don't think I can risk sending you both in."

            Daine sat in her seat, eyes wide.  Her heart pounded within her chest crazily.  She didn't want Numair anywhere near the mage that had attacked her so many years ago.  Numair considered the possibility with eagerness.  If he could find out who that mage was, he could personally inform that rat bastard what he thought of him trying to kill his wife.  "Jon…it's really the only option.  You don't have anyone else you trust that is Cartheki…George will help me."  He glanced over at Daine and winced.  Her eyes were full of fear and worry.

            Daine's throat refused to work.  Was he insane? He was volunteering to go? She tried to control her breathing.

            Jon sighed.  "Very well."  You'll leave in a week for Carthak.  You have six months."  Jon stood.  Enough for today.  Let's have lunch in one of the dinning rooms.  The room stood and began to walk.

            Numair walked over to Daine who had stood reluctantly.  "Daine…"  She wouldn't look up at him.  He glanced around; they had all left the room quickly.  He cupped the sides of her face with his hands, tangling his fingers in her hair.  "Magelet…," he whispered.  "Look at me, please?"  When she looked up at him, his heart nearly broke.

            Tears were forming in her eyes and her chin trembled.  One tear ran down her cheek…and then another.  Her voice was soft and strained when she spoke.  "I don't want you to go."

            He let out a breath roughly and pulled her into his chest.  She wrapped her arms around his back and clutched madly.  He stroked her head soothingly.  "I know.  I know you don't want me to go.  But this man…he's hurting people.  If I have the chance to stop him…I have too."

            She nodded into his chest and he made out a muffled "I know".  She pulled away and sniffed pitifully.  "But six months.  Numair, we haven't been separated for that long a time since we met.  I don't…I don't know if I can handle not having you near me for six months."

            He brushed some tears away with his thumbs.  "We can do this.  Tonight…and every night until I leave, I'm going to show you how much I love you.  Enough to last for six months."  Daine let out a small laugh and then nodded.  "Come on…lets get something to eat." He pulled her into his side and walked with her out the door.  They walked down the hall and into the dinning room where the others had gathered for lunch.  Alanna sat next to George a miserable frown across her own face as he held her hand and talked to her soothingly.  Jon and Gary sat together, discussing.  Raoul and Thayet talked with two of the magistrates.

            A guard bust into the room, breathing heavily.  Jon stood in curiosity.  "Magesty, riot…in the market!"  Everyone stood quickly and looked at each other.

            Jon looked worried.  "Riot? Are you sure?"

            "Not quite sure, Majesty.  But there's a stampede going on.  Lots of people have already been hurt.  Some have headed towards the palace for shelter.  Reports say the entire market place is in panic."

            Jon walked out the room, everyone on his heals. "Call in all the healers of the palace.  We are going to need them," he commanded.  "Raoul?"

            "Yes?"

            "Gather all your men out there.  Send those with healing magic to assemble a healing tent.  Take the rest and see if you can't get this under control."

            "Yes, Majesty," answered Raoul.

            "Daine, there are going to be a lot of panicked animals out there.  See if you can't calm them down.  You'll have your own healing to do as well.

            "Yes, Majesty."

            "Alanna, Numair.  You'll come with me."

*****

            The two girls pushed through the crowd of people little by little.  Amena had originally planned to hide in one of the shops.  But it had become evident that the shop-keepers had locked their doors and refused to open them to even two small girls trying to escape the mass panicked crowd.  So then, she had dragged them to one of the allies.  After discovering that they were even less safe then the main street was due to their compact size, she had decided to try and go against the crowds.  When they had run in the same direction of the people, they had been trampled on various times.  By going against them, Amena could see where everyone was going.  She gripped Jade's hand like a vice.  Dragging her against the current of men, woman, children and even animals, Amena was beginning to think they would never find an end to the mass of frantic people.  People were unconscious everywhere and anyone who stopped to try to help them was quickly trampled on as well.

            She felt her arm jerk as a frantic old woman flung Jade to the ground.  Keeping her grip on Jade's hand, Amena bent to help the five year old to her feet.  She was promptly knocked over by another person.  She tried to stand various times, each of which she was stepped on or tripped over.

            Jade had streaks of tears running down her face.  She screeched out in pain when someone stepped on her free hand.  Suddenly, more dry roots exploded from the pact street dirt.  The crowd roared with renewed vigor and became even more frantic.

            Finally getting to her feet, Amena hauled Jade up and again started pushing against the people.  She was breathing heavily and felt her own tears of fear break over.  She tripped over some roots, and fell to her knees.  She gritted past the stinging scrapes and rose once again.  She was starting to panic herself.  Where was the end of the stupid market?  She felt her arm tug.

            "Amena," Jade said through tears.  "Over there."  Amena looked towards where Jade was pointing to see the side of an old building.

            "Jade, we can't.  We'll get trampled over there," She yelled.

            "We can climb it," supplied Jade.

            "We can what?" Was she serious?

            "Climb it.  Come on."  Jade pulled Amena over to the wall.  A group of men shoved them against the side of the building.  Amena was about to say it was no good when Jade reached up and grabbed on to the old building.  Amena stared in awe as the five year old grabbed on to the worn brick and pulled herself higher and higher.  Climbing the ten foot wall using the littlest of hand holds.  Jade pulled herself over the edge.  She looked back down.  "Come on!"

            Amena grabbed onto the edge and pulled herself up a few feet but her hands couldn't get a good hold an she slipped.  "I can't!" she said frantically.

            Jade disappeared from sight.  Amena was just about to panic when a rope was thrown over the edge, just low enough for her to reach.  "I tied it to the pole up here.  But I can't tie very good knots.  I'll try and hold it. Climb!"

            Amena pulled herself up little by little.  Jade pulling the rope has hard as she could so that knot wouldn't undo itself.  Finally, Amena gripped the edge of the flat roof.  Jade dropped the rope and helped pull her over.  They collapsed in heavy breathing fits.  Amena was just getting herself under control she heard Jade sob.  She sat up quickly and looked at her.  "What's wrong?"

            Jade shook violently.  "That was so scary.  All those people running around like that." Jade hiccupped several times as she cried.  "Someone stepped on my hand." She held it up to show Amena.  Amena hissed at the bloody fingers.  She ripped some of her shirt and wrapped it around Jade's hand.

            "It's all right.  We're all right now.  We just have to stay up here until it calms down."

            Jade sobbed harder.  "I though I was lost.  It was so scary.  I didn't know where you were."

            "I'm right here.  Right here, see.  I'm not going anywhere.  You're not lost anymore."

            "I want my Mama," Jade cried.

            Amena jumped in surprise as the ceramic from around a potted plant sitting on the roof shattered, the roots growing a good five inches before stopping.  She looked from Jade to the plant and back.  "Jade," Amena said.  "You need to calm down.  I think you're doing this."

            Jade looked confused.  "What?"

            I think you made that tree move back there.  And I think you made the roots jump out of the ground. And the roots in the pot.  I think you did that too."

            Jade's face fell.  "No! I didn't mean to do it.  I didn't mean to make all those people scared.  I didn't Amena.  I…" she started to shake again.

            "Hey, hey.  It's alright.  It's not your fault.  But you need to calm down Jade.  I think it happens when you get scared…or emotional.  Just calm down, all right.  We're fine now.  We are not going to get hurt.  So calm down alright?" Amena pulled Jade onto her lap.  After ten minutes, Jade stopped shaking.  After another ten minutes, both Amena and Jade had fallen asleep on the rooftop, curled up together.

*****

            She was about to loose her mind.  She couldn't remember ever being this close to absolutely loosing it.  They had headed down to the city to find the market and surrounding streets a complete mess of frantic people.  Raoul and the King's own had managed to stop the mass hysteria, but the damage had been done.  Hundreds of people had been trampled.  They had already had close to 20 deaths.  Countless more injured.  The streets were still a mess.  They had near by shops set up for healing and even one for location purposes, for finding lost people (children primarily).

            Daine had controlled (barely) the hysterical animals all over the city.  It had taken nearly two hours.  She had then put herself to work healing the injured animals.  She had called for one of the ungifted pages running around helping the healers to go to the palace and bring Jade down.  An hour and a half later, he had returned, empty handed, claiming he had searched the entire palace grounds.  She was nowhere to be found.  Daine had started to worry.  Then, the parents of Jade's new friend, Amena, had found her, asking if she had seen Amena.  Apparently, she was missing as well.  Daine was getting more nervous by the minute.

            She had returned to the castle to look for Jade, starting with their rooms.  After her own search, Daine had begun to get frightened.  Asking all the children, she tried to find out where Jade had last been seen.  That was when she had run into a small girl from the stables.  She had seen both Amena and Jade running past the stables earlier.  They had run to the entrance gates and snuck out past the guards.  Daine had nearly panicked.  Jade had been in the city during the hysteria.  Most likely in the market itself.  She ran back to the market and immediately began searching for her daughter.  Her first stop had been the location tent.  There were dozens of children in there, none Amena or Jade.  Amena's father and mother had joined the hunt.  All three of them frantically searching the healing tents.

            She had located Numair near the center of the market place with Alanna and Jon.  They had been trying to figure out what magic had caused the hysteria.  Numair had quickly left and joined the hunt.  It was dark now, the streets full of torches to light the hundreds of heads still in it.  Daine ran back to the meeting point in hopes that one of the other three had found the girls.  She saw all three of them waiting impatiently.  "Did you find them?" she asked quickly.

            "No, Magelet.  We haven't found them," Numair said with white rimmed lips.  She could tell he was holding on to his calmness by a thread.  She felt her heart pound horrible in her throat.

            "Numair, what are we going to do? Where are they?  Goddess, what if they're hurt? Why were they out here in the market place?  We have to keep looking.  There must be someplace we haven't looked."  Tears clogged her throat and she felt herself sob.  She covered her mouth in attempts to hide her panic.  Her shoulders shook.  Numair grabbed her into a hug.

            "We'll find her, both of them.  They're fine.  I know it.  It's just too crazy out here."  He rubbed her arms up and down as he looked towards the Cassidy's.  Amena's mother was also on the verge of tears her father rubbing his hair in anxiety.

*****

            Jade opened her eyes and winced at the throbbing in her hand.  She picked her shoulder off Amena's stomach and blinked.  Was it dark? "Oh no," she whispered.  "Amena…," she shook the girl.  "Amena, wake up."

            "Hmm?"

            "Amena, it's dark.  We fell asleep."

            Amena opened her eyes and looked around.  "Oh no! We are _so_ much trouble." She moved to get up but discovered her knees hurt too much to put pressure on them.  When she looked them over, she noticed her breeches were ripped and covered in blood from two gashes on her knees.  "Perfect!" she muttered.  She pushed herself up and limped to the edge of the room.

            "Amena, your knees are bleeding," noted Jade.

            Amena looked over at Jade and winced.  "You have a big cu on your cheek.  There is no way we are going to be able to hide that we were in the market place."  Jade groaned.  "we should get down from hear.  It's late.  I bet our parents are looking for us."  They climbed down the wall again (with great care to avoid any cuts or bruises) and walked out to the street.  They froze.

            "Amena…what happened?" Jade looked around at all the people lying in the market.  Healers ran around busily.  "Did I…" she swallowed.  "Did I do that?" she whispered.

            "I don't know."

            Jade felt tears rise to her eyes.  "I hurt people."

            Amena turned to her.  "No.  You didn't.  Don't say that."

            "I didn't want bad magic." She whimpered.  "I wanted magic so much.  But I didn't want bad magic.  How do I give it back.  I don't want magic anymore, Amena.  I don't want bad magic."  She felt herself cry harder.

            Amena didn't know what to say. "I don't…I don't think you _can give it back Jade."  Jade lowered her head and cried silently.  Amena took a deep breath and grabbed her uninjured hand.  "Come on…let's go back to the palace."_

*****

A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter.  I did.  Next one probably won't be ready until after my spring break…which is all of next week.  So sit tight.

Also, I will say again.  If you want to be on the mailing list for updates and news and junk…let me know.  SMILE

Karigan


	10. Hallway

            A/N:  First of all, I would like to apologize for such a long wait for the following chapter.  A friend of mine recently lost her battle with cancer of the heart. I am glad to have been able to spend the last two weeks she was here on earth with her down in Georgia.  When she passed almost three weeks ago, I wasn't up to writing or much of anything.  I do feel much better now, and once again have begun writing.  After this chapter is posted, I will continue to post as often as possible.  However, I do have a lot of work to make up and finals start in two weeks.  I will try to post at least once a week, but no promises.  Schoolwork has to come first.

Karigan

            I hope you enjoy the following chapter:

*****

The Uncontrollable

Hallway

*****

            The two girls sat and waited in the empty hallway.  They hadn't changed or even gotten a chance to eat.  Amena's pants were blood-spattered and soiled.  Rips in the fabric at the knees allowed for fresh bandages to be seen underneath covering itchy scrapes.  Her tunic, ripped down the sleeve from shoulder to wrist, showed the early stages of a long bruise as yellowish-green marred her light complexion.  Her blonde hair, which at some point in the evening, had been a frizzy mess, was know flat against her head as if someone had desperately tried to make it decent.   Her hands were busy picking at fingernails as her feet tapped restlessly on the stone flooring.  She shifted uncomfortably in the wooden chair the servants had provided for them when she tried to tell herself it wasn't taking forever, and they weren't in for it, as she looked over to the younger girl on her right.

            Jade sat on the edge of her seat.  Her hands gripped the sides of the wooden furniture with white knuckles, one wrapped heavily with white bandages.  Her five-year-old legs didn't reach the floor, so instead each foot wrapped around a front leg in irritation.  She was staring at the floor with religious devotion, her green eyes locked onto the cracks.  This resulted in the mass of black curly hair to fall forward over her shoulders, effectively concealing the majority of her face behind the curtains of soft curls, which were now frizzed and tangled.  Amena sighed in exhaustion, letting her head fall back onto the back of the chair.  She stared up at the stone ceiling with unease.

            From the opposite side of the hallway behind a closed wooden door, came a burst of muffled thunderous voices.  Both Jade and Amena looked at the door with surprise as the voices argued back and forth a few times before quickly dieing down.  The girls looked towards each other slightly, their eyes meeting.  Jade's eyes were red-rimmed from self-conscious tears, but none-the-less, calm.  The cut on her cheek had been washed and cleaned and was currently drying out to begin its healing process.  Amena could see the question in her eyes.  In response, Amena raised her eyebrows and shrugged a little in answer.  Jade eyes fell away from Amena's before once again turning to the floor and continuing her staring contest with the old cracks.  Amena bit at her lower lip and swallowed in nervous anxiety as she returned once again to picking at her nails and trying desperately to ignore that pesky little part of her head that kept telling her now would be a good time to panic - and maybe, if she started now, she could make a run for it.  Somehow, she didn't think they'd let her get past the first corner.  Damn!

*****

Two hours earlier:

            Amena trudged back up the now subdued but still crowded marketplace, a sniffling Jade being towed behind her.  Looking around the darkness of the night, she couldn't help but notice a few bodies with white sheets covering them fully.  Trying to lead Jade away from those particular scenes, Amena began talking to fill the empty air.  "I don't think you will be the only one pealing potatoes, Jade.  I should probably go down to the blacksmith and have my pealing knife sharpened.  And while we're out here, you might want to take a good look at the sky because I have a feeling we won't be allowed out of our respective potato pealing corners for a few months and that could just get…"

            "Amena…?"

            "Hmm?"

            "Could we just…could we just not talk right now?"

            Amena stopped and turned to face the girl.  Her eyes were red and puffy while the rest of her face was pale making the blood running from the cut on her cheek seem all the more distinctively red.  Her eyes were shadowed with something Amena didn't quite understand, but she thought it looked something like fear.  "Umm…yea, sure.  We don't have to…you know, talk.  We can be quiet for a while if you want.  That sound good?"

            Jade nodded.  Amena started walking again.  After only a few seconds, the silence was beginning to grate on her nerves.  Instead of busting out with more nervous comments, she bit her lip.  Her mind raced with unimportant comments as she once or twice tried to think of a way out of 'this' problem.  All the regular excuses wouldn't due for this situation.  It would have to be good.  Jade halted suddenly.  Amena turned to ask what was wrong.  Jade's eyes were wide and innocent looking as she stared towards one of the tents.  Amena turned to see what had caught her attention and found herself starring as well.  From one of the healing tents with a handful of injured people came a wailing.  A woman in torn clothing on her knees was the source.  She lay in a crumpled mass next to a flat table.  On that table was a figure laying lifelessly, a white shroud covering it.  The figure didn't extend to the entire reach of the table as healers sadly tried to consol the weeping woman.  Amena's throat went dry and she felt her stomach roll in despair.  The small figure was a child, surely no older than her own self was.  She was pulled out of her trance by the aching pain in her hand, the one being gripped by Jade.  Jade's small body was shaking violently, her hand gripping Amena's with painful pressure.  "Jade."

            The small head jerked towards her, black curls flying around her head.  "I want to go home now, Amena."  It was strained and came out in broken words but it was clear non-the-less.

            Amena nodded.  "Come on," she whispered sadly.  It dawned upon her that there _was no way out of this one.  Jade was to affected by what had happened today to hide it.  When Amena actually thought about it, she realized whatever magic it was that Jade had, her parents should know about it –and probably the King as well- she thought sadly.  She had no magic of her own, but she knew that what Jade had…well, it just wasn't _normal_; and by the looks of it, her emotions played a _big _role in it._

            After a few more streets, Amena began to worry that Jade's shaking was not settling down.  She was about to mention it when she heard both their names yelled out from up the street.  She turned to see a short blonde haired woman speeding towards them.  Amena's heart lifted at the sight of her mother.  "Ma!" she called out, pulling Jade behind her.  Her mother snatched Amena up into a bone-crushing hug before thoroughly looking her over.

            "Oh, my girl!  My darling girl! Where have you been?!?  We've been looking all over for you two."  She quickly scanned Amena's body for injury.  "What did you do Amena; use your knees as a sled?"  The woman looked over at Jade, "Jade, dear, are you all right?" Jade nodded.  "Well come here girl.  Let me look you over.  Your mother is giving herself a nervous breakdown looking for you; the least I can do is make sure you're in one piece."  Jade stepped up to the lady quietly.  "Oh, look at that!  That's a vicious cut you got there," she said with kindness as she lightly touched the area around Jade's cheek.  She looked over Jade's body with practiced eyes.  "Let me see tha' hand darling.  It looks swollen."  Jade winced as Amena's mother assessed the injury.  "A few broken fingers I'm afraid, but nothing that won't heal."  Her eyes turned from kind and loving to frustrated and inquiring.  "Well then, now that I know you both will live, would either of you like to explain what in the Goddess's name you're doing outside the palace walls without permission?"  Both girls looked at each other with trepidation.  Amena was about to open her mouth to speak when her mother cut in.  "Never mind that now.  We have lots of time to have this discussion.  Amena, your father doesn't need heart failure at his age; and Jade, we should find your parents and put them out of their misery."

*****

Hallway:

            The silence was grating on Amena's nerves like iron nails.  The hall was so quiet, her tapping foot created an echo.  They hadn't heard a single sound come out of the room in almost half an hour.  Jade continued to sit on the edge of her seat with her hair covering her face.  Amena wanted to shriek herself hoarse if it would only end the silence.

            The sound of the door opening caught their attention.  Both girls looked up hastily as the wooden door opened with a crick.  Amena's father and mother came out with tired but frustrated faces.  Both girls jumped to their feet, Amena wincing at the stiffness in her knees.  "Amena," ordered her father with a short voice as he began walking down the hall.

            Amena nodded in compliance as she swallowed thickly.  Walking past Jade, she gave the younger girl a little smile in reassurance before obediently straggling behind her father.

            Jade's eyes followed Amena before going back to the short blonde woman standing in front of her.  "Thank you, Mistress Cassidy," she whispered.

            The aging woman placed a gentle hand on Jade's head before saying, "It will turn out fine.  You'll see."  Jade nodded with reluctance.  Mistress Cassidy sighed before walking down the hall in the direction of her husband and daughter.  Jade was about to sit herself down again to wait when a voice from the door caught her attention.

            "Jade?"  She looked up to see Alanna at the door.  "You can come in now," she said gently.  Jade stood slowly and walked past Alanna, who placed a reassuring hand on her back, into the room.

*****

One hour earlier:

            "Magelet, your crushing her."  Daine was on her knees in the palace yards with Jade clutched frantically in her arms.  On her part, Jade was doing her own mad clutching around Daine's neck.  Her heart pounded for all she was worth as thoughts raced through her head about what she had done in the market place.  Her father was trying to coax Daine to let go of the five-year-old while looking over his daughter with relieved eyes.

            Reluctantly, Daine pulled away from Jade slightly with tears of utter relief in her eyes.  "Jade, you scared the life out of me.  _Why_ were you in the market place? You know you're not allowed to go places without our permission."

            Jade looked down at the ground, her throat refusing to work.  Amena, who was busy being clutched at by her father answered for her.  "I asked her to go with me – into the market."

            Jade's father looked down at Amena with shock.  "You? Amena, we have taught you better than that…"

            "No, please.  Amena shouldn't take the blame for Jade," Numair tried.

            "I understand that Master Numair, but Amena knows better."  The man turned to his daughter.  "You left the castle, _without permission to go out into the market place at its busiest hour.  What's __worse, you put __Jade in danger.  You are eight, Amena.  You are too young to be going to places you are not familiar with, much less with a five-year-old.  Jade is five; she sees you doing what you do and wants to do the same thing.  As the older of the two, you, at least, should have thought about your actions."_

            Amena starred at the ground in shame.

            "But I _wanted_ to go!"  Jade set her Jaw and stared at her parents with unwavering eyes.  "I wanted to.  It's not Amena's fault."  She jumped and hissed slightly when Mistress Cassidy began bandaging her hand.

            "Well, right now that's not important.  We can discuss that later," spoke Numair.  "Where were you two when the panic broke out?"

            Amena swallowed a thick lump as Jade turned pale.  "We were…," Amena began.  "We were..ahh.. in front of the candy apple stand."

            "Did you see what happened?"  Mr. Cassidy.

            The two girls glanced at one another quickly before tearing their eyes away and shifting in their seats.  Mistress Cassidy called them on it.  "Here now, what's this about?"  Both girls looked down at their hands.

            Numair looked from one girl to the next with questioning eyes.  "I hope one of you is going to answer."

            Jade's voice was low and scared.  "I didn't mean to…," she plead.

            Daine looked amazed.  "What…what do you mean?  What's going on?"

            Amena stood up suddenly.  "It was an accident.  She didn't mean for it to happen.  She was just scared is all."

            Mistress Cassidy walked up to Amena.  "What did Jade do, Amena?" she asked with seriousness.

            Amena looked over at Jade who sat in front of her mother's questioning face and sighed.  "I think…I think maybe you should umm, ask….ask his majesty to…to come.  I don't think…I don't think Jade or I want to tell this story more than once."

*****

A/N:  Well, I hope you like the chapter…its not very action packed like the previous ones, but I think its suspenseful non-the-less.  *smile*  Send me RRREEEVVVIIIEEEWWWSSS!  *cute smile* please…

Karigan


	11. Tapestries

Ok…I have absolutely no excuse for not updating in a while; I just didn't do any writing.  Anyways, time to get this story going again.  It's summer time now, so I can update a lot more often.  This last semester was just an absolute nightmare of classes and papers.  Considering I wrote my entire first story in one semester and I'm only 1/3 of the way done for the second chapter, it really is interesting to note.

Oh, and I would like to thank **Forget Me Not for nominating me for an award!  Your awesome…I blushed scarlet when I got that email.  Thanks!**

Anyways…Thanks for all the support.  HERE WE GOOOOO!

The Secret Magic: 2: The Uncontrollable

Tapestries

            It was like being in a room of ancient statues, all of them grave and telling of not-so-promising things to come.  Of course, to a five-year-old, so many strained and gray faces made an interesting mixture of fear and reservation churn malignantly in her stomach.  She knew all those in the room, they were all people she absolutely adored on a day-to-day basis.

            The King sat in a cushioned chair at the end of an intricately designed rectangular table.  He was whispering softly to his wife, the Queen, with a strained intensity that was visible to any who bothered to look, one hand gripping the arm of the chair with strained knuckles while the other tapped a pointed finger on the table as if he were trying to get a point across.  She, on the other hand, seemed calm and collected, though a telling frown on her face made it quite clear that his words were having at least _some_ impact on her train of thought.  

            Situated in the corner of the room, Onua leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest and one leg casually crossed over the other in a perfectly laid-back position.  Though her bodily features were just as calm as the Queen's, the blazing eyes locked onto her own feet betrayed the fury she was so carefully restraining.

            Uncle George sat in a chair not to far from Onua.  Though, surprisingly, he didn't look at all upset.  He almost seemed… 'glad?' to see her.  And it was a relief, because she didn't think she could handle not having at least _one non-related adult who didn't absolutely hate her after today.  He was all kind eyes and mischievous grins, as if it had all been a fun joke he had helped her plot out and execute perfectly.  And when he unexpectedly winked at her in reassurance, she felt her entire body give a massive sigh of relief, because, if it was going to be like an execution, she didn't think Uncle George would be so happy to see her.  And she didn't think she'd ever be so grateful to Uncle George as she was at that very moment, when he made this terrifying ordeal seem just a little bit less stressful, if only for a few seconds.  No wonder he was the only close adult friend of the families that she always attached an 'uncle' to the front of.  It only seemed to obvious now._

            Alanna was still standing slightly behind her, one hand gently resting on her shoulder as she slightly nudged Jade forward towards her parents who sat a small cushioned couch off to the side, in perfect view of everyone.  And while her Mama was still half in tears over Gods-knew what conversation had taken place in here, she didn't look angry.  Just…slightly sad.

            And Papa…Papa was never to hard to figure out.  He was not at all reserved when it came to Mama or herself.  Today was no different.  He was…angry…yes…but not at her, she could tell by the way he smiled reassuringly at her and then motioned for her to come over to him.  She obeyed of course, walking meekly towards them with hands clasped tightly in front of her, ignoring the tight sting of her broken fingers.

            She stood in front of her parents with trepidation growing in her stomach, because it was suddenly becoming really hard not to cry.  As if a protective barrier had just vanished from around her, insecurity and fear crept into her spine at what they might say, what they might _do_.  The shock was wearing off, though she didn't know it.  It had settled upon her when Amena and she had climbed off the roof, dulling her emotions from the harsh realities of what she was seeing in a protective natural anesthetic provided by her own body, fighting to protect her mental and emotional state from completely crumpling under the pressure.  It was becoming too much for her to handle.  Inside this room, with so much tension radiating off every body was making her nerves ring in absolute panic.  She felt her almost non-existent control completely falter within seconds of reaching her parents.  Her eyes suddenly stung and filled with moisture as a small cry escaped her lips.  She didn't notice the alarmed faces of her parents, or the softening facial features of all those in the room at her obvious distress.  All she noticed was that the stinging in her eyes got worse and worse, tears spilling over her clenched eyes and her mouth opening to release screaming sobs barreling through her lungs, throat and mouth.

            Daine jumped forward immediately, falling to her knees in front of her daughter.  She had noticed Jade becoming more and more frightened as she had approached, though, for the life of her, couldn't figure out why.  Her little body had been wired with tension as she walked towards them.  And just as she was going to ask her to come sit with her, Jade had clenched her eyes shut and let out a soul-shattering cry.  Her face was already turned a deep shade of red and was straining to let out holler after holler of frightened cries.  "Oh sweetling…it's alright."  She reached out and pulled Jade to her strong sure arms.  Sitting on her lower legs and knees, Daine clutched Jade to her chest with loving arms.  It was only a breathless second later that Jade flung her arms around her mother's neck, buried her face in the crook of Daine's neck and cried for all she was worth, small muffled screams erupted from Jade as she only seemed to cry harder.

            The others in the room squirmed in their seats.  Jon felt his heart twist painfully at Jade's heart wrenching cries. Thayet covered her mouth as a small sob escaped her lips at the realization that Jade was frightened, frightened of them.  Alanna came and sat next to George in her own chair, gripping his hand tightly.  Numair sat in the same spot, unable to move, as like Thayet, he realized that they had frightened Jade beyond words.  He felt self-disgust settle in his stomach as he watched is daughter clutch madly at Daine.  'Probably thinks we hate her', he reprimanded himself.   He wanted to comfort her himself, but she was clutching so heavily to Daine, he thought better of it and let her get armfuls of reassurances from her mother first.

            Onua felt just as lousy at having made the mistake of putting Jade through such emotional fright after what had happened that day.  She'd come in here and looked at each and every one of the adults, trying to find a friendly face.  They weren't mad at her, not at all; but the fights that had been roaring for the last two hours regarding their options had most of them in foul moods, probably being misinterpreted by Jade.  She looked away from the mother and daughter clutching each other with a sigh.  She focused on a corner plant, trying to ignore the guilt unsuccessfully, focusing in on its withering leaves.  She sighed and looked up at the ceiling before doing a double take back to the plant.  Her eyes grew wide as the 5 foot large leafed plant was withering right in front of her eyes.  She swung her head to the other corner where a similar plant was cracking and drying into dusty ash.  "Gods!" she whispered loudly.  George and Alanna, being closest to her, turned at her exclamation, just loud enough to hear over Jades cries.  When she didn't look at them, they followed her gaze to the plant and noticeable stilled.  Alanna leapt up to her feet and stumbled over to the ashing plant with amazement.  It was flaking to pieces right before her eyes, as if time had sped up for the little plant and she could watch its effect.

            "Jon!" she called.

            After his own shock, Jon turned to Numair, when the window caught his attention.  He really wasn't sure why he had the curiosity to look.  He approached the window and visible gaped at what he saw.  Outside the window was a small garden that held a lilies and violets.  It was a small garden, only about 10 feet by 10 feet, but it was utterly amazing non-the-less.  The flowers, which had been healthy and vibrant not five minutes ago, were withering in front of his very eyes.  "Numair…"

            "A moment, Jon," Numair said as he gently stroked Jade's heaving back as she continued to cry.

            "Numair, now," Jon ordered.

            Numair scowled and rose to his feet.  "What is it, Jon? Can't you see I'm…" he trailed off as he looked out the window with Jon.  He quickly turned back to Daine and Jade, then back to the window.  "Mithros!"  He mind started churning a million miles and hour.  Amena had adamantly declared that Jade had caused the roots to spring from the ground when she thought she was lost.  Numair had reluctantly agreed, but made it clear he thought Jade's magic just decided to act up for the first time during and emotional moment, not necessarily repetitive.  He took it all back now.  While the magic may not have been _activated_ by her emotional distress, she certainly lost control of it.  He was transfixed by the dieing greenery outside.  And he just gaped when Jades cries died down to hiccups while Jade hushed and whispered loving words to her and the withering just stopped, damage done, but still, stopped.

            "This changes everything," Alanna said softly from behind Jon and Numair.  "Jon, I don't think this is magic that even Numair understands."  They had argued for hours on proper training for Jade, since it was apparent she had a powerful 'gift' that would require much attention… 'Or not,' Alanna thought.  'Nope, definitely not the Gift.'

            Numair visibly grimaced in acknowledgement.  This was completely foreign to him.  Magic that controlled plant life, plant function, plant…everything and anything possibly.  It wasn't the Gift, because it was part of her, like Daine's magic, because when Daine was upset, animals visibly were too.  Had it been like the Gift, it would have been normal…because there were plenty of people that had a gift with plants; Daine's Ma had been one of those.  But it wasn't like wild magic either…wild magic was a connection between two minds….did plants even _have _minds?  Fear crept into him as he realized they had very limited options.  How would Jade learn to control such magic?  How does someone learn something when it has never been learned before, because this, this wasn't Wild Magic, a magic thought of as an old wife's tale.  This…this was absolutely unheard of.  There were no records…NONE…of any human…EVER…to have magic like this.  And that scared him.  "Your right, Alanna…this changes everything."

***

A/N:  Oh fun!  Next chapter coming soon!


	12. Subdued

Ok, Next chapter…enjoy

The Secret Magic: 2: The Uncontrollable

Subdued

***

            "How are you feeling?"

            Jade's eyes jumped up as she took a bite from her sandwich.  Papa stood there with a smile on his face.  She nodded and swallowed the bread and cheese in her mouth.

            "Good." He sighed.  "I know it's been a little…different lately."

            She looked back down at her sandwich.  'Different' didn't begin to describe how thing's had been, if the screaming shouts from victims families for justice was anything to go by.  The fact that none of the children that _used to play with her wouldn't come within ten feet of her now was starting to get old.  Of coarse, she wondered if they would've acted different if their parents hadn't ordered them to stay away from her, warning them she was dangerous.  She could enter a room and empty it now, as if just her mere presence in a room shouted 'DANGER, DANGER'.  The events in the courtyard this morning had been proof enough of that.  She'd walked into it, intending to head for one of the gardens, she had been feeling depressed lately, and all the children stopped dead in their tracts.  She had smiled at them, trying to reassure them that she wasn't, in fact, dangerous, but they had all slinked away.  All except Amena._

            She had looked around her at all the scattering children and sighed.  Walking up to Jade, she shrugged and put an arm around her shoulders.  "It takes getting used to, I guess."

            "Ya," sighed Jade, looking down dejectedly.

            "Hey, I got an idea, ya wanna…." She turned her head at the sound of her name being called.

            "Amena Cassidy!"  Her mother, leaned out a window in a wooden building against the castle walls where her father worked in the workshop downstairs and they lived up top.

            "Ya, ma?"

            "You didn't clean your room, young lady!"

            "Aww, Ma.  Can't I…"

            "No! Now!"

            Amena sighed and looked back down at Jade.  "I guess I gotta go."

            Jade nodded, trying to smile. "Ya, I guess you do."  And Amena had hopped away towards her house, leaving Jade to continue her walk to the gardens.

            "Listen," Numair's words interrupted her train of thought.  Jade looked back up at him.  "I need you to be back here at two o'clock sharp, all right.  There's someone I want you to meet.  That gives you an hour after you eat to go play."

            She nodded again.  He smiled at her then, leaned over and kissed the top of her head.  "Can I go to the west gardens?" she blurted.

            "Again?" he asked with raised eyebrows.  "Didn't you go there this morning?"

            "Yes, can I go again?"

            Numair looked at her with thinking eyes.  As if he were trying to figure her out.  "Yes, of coarse you can go to the gardens again.  Be careful though."

            "I will." She answered with a nod attacked.

***

            She sat against a magnolia tree, her knees pulled up against her chest.  Running her fingers through the glass blades, she idily wondered when this bad dream was going to end, because no body had _ever_ been afraid of her, and she didn't like that they were now.  Papa and Mama weren't, at least, and she was grateful for at least that, because Gods knew, she deserved punishment for what she had done.  They didn't talk to much about it around her.  Only what they though they should, about the magic involved.  Sometimes she wished they would just come out and say it, she had killed people. Men, Women, children…even animals.  She had asked Amena to find out for her, and she had reluctantly agreed.  12.  Twelve people dead.  She cringed whenever she thought about it, wanted to rip it from her mind with claws she didn't have.  She rested her chin against her knees.  The last two weeks _had been different._

            The King didn't seem mad at her.  In fact, he seemed to be smiling at her more and the queen, though she didn't see her as much because the queen was busy with ambassadors during this season had been nicer.  Onua, well it seemed Onua was just as determined as her Papa was to figure out what it was Jade had.  And Mama…Mama was the same as ever, thank the Gods…because she couldn't handle Mama being different.  She rested her forehead against her knees and sighed.  Moving her head slightly to the side, she stared at flowers growing there.  Curiously, she ran a finger down one of the petals of a daisy.  Nothing happened.  She sighed again.  "You know you shouldn't be allowed out of you room, murderer."  
            Jade's head snapped up.  Molena stood in front of her, so she quickly put her head back down to her knees, intent on ignoring her.

            "Did you hear me?  I need to go."

            "Why?" Jade said as she looked up once again.

            "Because I want to pick some flowers and I don't want to get strangled by tree vines while I'm at it.  So go."

            Jade sat where she was and glared at the older girl.  "No.  I was here first.  If you don't want to be around me, than _you_ go."

            Molena stomped up to Jade with hands on her hips.  Reaching down she dragged Jade up and pushed her.  "I said _go, _or I'll tell my parents you tried to kill me with poison ivy, and then you'll be put away in a dungeon with all the other killers.  Who knows, maybe they'll even hang you."

            Jade stumbled back towards the garden archway, fear ripping through her.  "They won't do that to me," she states with trepidation and uncertainty.

            "No?" Molena asked with raised eyebrows and a laugh.  "Look outside the palace wall, _JADE._  There are at least 50 people who would love to see you hanged for killing their families.  How long do you think you parents can protect you from them? I wouldn't bet too heavily on it."

            Jade swallowed hard as she looked at the Palace outer walls.  She looked back to Molena with trembling lips.  The older girl looked absolutely ecstatic that Jade was about to cry.  'I won't cry' she ordered herself.  Crying at been the cause of everything so far it seemed.  'I'll never cry again'.  And she stomped past Molena out of the gardens, hands clenched in silent fury.

            Molena smiled a tiny grin and turned around with a wistful sigh, going about her picking.  She turned to a patch of daisies next to a magnolia and started to pick them.  "Oomph!" She felt herself get shoved forward into the flowery patch.  She struggled up, only to have to tear her dress out of the daisy vines.  She cursed silently at a whole in her dress as she looked around for the source of her shove.  No one.  Angrily, she stomped out to go change; it wouldn't do to walk around with a muddy and torn dress.

            As she left the daisies shifted back into their rightful positions, covering up the dent Molena had made with her body, repairing any damage with quick work.  A squirrel gathering nuts on the ground looked up from its current treat as he heard gentle snickering from a normally silent creature.  Oddly looking at the Magnolia tree that was shifting back to its original state, pulling its branches back in.  The tiny squirrel shook its head to its self, wondering why trees were so vengeful.  'That wasn't very nice' thought the squirrel.  'I don't remember ever hearing of trees that pushed humans down before.'  It shoved the rest of the nutshell aside and climbed up the tree, back up to its burrow.

***

            Jade closed the heavy wooden door behind her with both hands and then walked up to water basin.  Cleaning her hands like she had been taught, her eyes shifted to her father's study when she heard conversation muffled through it.  The door opened just then and Papa, Mama and another woman, slightly younger, stepped through, speaking to each other.

            "There you are sweet," called Papa.  "Come here a moment."  Jade looked at her father with unsure eyes.  Slowly walking up to the three adults, she swallowed with shifting eyes.  Finally meeting the women's eyes, Jade couldn't help but stare.  The woman was so pale, she put the Queen to shame.  She had golden blonde hair and piercing ice blue eyes with pink lips and highly arched eyebrows.  She wore a blue lace dress, oddly enough.  It wasn't a very elegant dress.  But it certainly wasn't what women wore on every day occasions here at the castle either.  She was very pretty.  Then the woman smiled at her.  'No,' thought Jade…'She's beautiful.'

            "Jade," said her mother.  "This is Atune of Masson.  She's going to be your teacher."

            Jade's eyes jumped from her mother to the woman, confused.

            "Lady Masson has come all the way from Scanra to be your tutor, Jade.  She's going to be living here with us and she…"

            "I thought I was going to school with the other children," she said suddenly.

            "Jade," said the woman.  "You should not interrupt people when they are speaking."  Jade's eyes widened slightly; she hadn't expected that.

            "It's alright," Numair said to the woman with understanding eyes.  He looked back at her then and she could tell he was trying to be gentle.  "Jade…We were thinking of putting you in school for a while…but…your mother and I think it much more appropriate for you to have a private tutor."

            "But I want to go to school," Jade stated.  She noticed he mother smiling sadly.

            "Jade," started the woman.  "I know it's different than what you expected, but your parents only want what's best for you."

            Jade stared at the woman for a moment, evaluating her.  "And you're wants best for me," she stated.

            Daine's eyes got large.  "Jade Salmalin."

            "No, no," said the woman.  "It's alright Miss Daine." She smiled at Daine and then turned mirthful eyes towards Jade once again.  "Yes, Jade.  I am what is best for you."

            "Jade," said her father.  "Why don't you go wait in your room?  We'll be there shortly.  Jade stared at the woman a little longer, trying to figure her out, unsuccessfully.  Giving up, she sulked towards her room.

            "I'm really sorry, Lady Masson.  She's not usually so…"

            The woman laughed and held up a hand.  "It's quite alright.  I very much enjoyed that.  I'm completely excited now.  You have an extremely smart little girl.  It's very rare for a five-year-old to use sarcasm so effectively.  I can tell this is going to be a good start."

            "She's been…slightly off lately.  The market place has upset her," stated Numair.  "She's been treated differently by most people; I think she's started to feel the pinch.  I just wanted to make sure…before we go any further, that you don't have any qualms about being her tutor, knowing what we know, or rather, what we don't know, about her magic."

            "It is strange.  I'll give you that.  Do you know how she might have developed such magic?"

            "We think," started Daine.  "that it happened when I was pregnant with her.  That's when we learned that there was this kind of…plant magic…it must have gotten into my body while I was pregnant with her.  When…the plant magic healed me…but we're not sure how it works or what to do."

            "Hmm." The woman thought for a moment.  "Well, certainly, I have no problem with teaching Jade.  She's very bright, as I said before.  And I don't think she's dangerous, if that's what you're asking."

            "Well then," stated Numair.  "Come back into the study and we'll discuss your wages."


	13. Hello's and Goodbye's

            Ok…I would like to thank everyone for their awesome reviews…I really like getting them, because I want to know what you all like.  After all, if someone writes words, but nobody's there to read it, is it really a story? Ok, philosophy is definitely not my thing…

            Anywho…I would like to give special thanks to **Starryfantasy.  **You gave the best and most detailed reviews I've gotten in a long time.  Thank you so much!  

**IMPORTANT – IMPORTANT – IMPORTANT – READ BEFORE YOU START THIS CHAPTER!!!!**

Just so you know…lol…my spell wasn't supposed to be completely in Spanish…though anyone with a basic understanding of Castilian can see the Latin undertones.  But – just so everyone knows, I am from Spain myself…in fact, it's my first language, English is my second.  I used Castilian Spanish as the base for my spell in "Complications", and threw in a dash of Italian and a splash of Latin just to give it a unique taste. (I'm not cooking, I promise).  

            In addition, with the help of my reviewers, I've noticed that I've somewhat lacked in Daine character strength lately.  I will definitely try to remedy that as well.  

            As for Jade, I know she seems to smart for her age, but that's kind of a good part of the story.  So when you notice her becoming receptive to the human condition, just kinda figure that's another quirk of her magic…because, often, she seems like a normal five-year-old, (like her crying fit in chapter 11), yet other times she seems almost surreally in tune with her surroundings…just bare with me, ok.

            I know this story seems to be moving at a slower pace than my first story, and yes, that's partly because I'm updating a lot less recently, but it also has to do with storyline.  A lot of this is REALLY important material.  And later on, in this story and even the third and forth stories, it becomes vitally important.  It's all interconnected, and if I  skip it now, it won't be as good later on…because, what I REALLY want from my audience is to for them to get to certain parts of the story and just go "OH MY GOD!  THAT'S WHY!!!"  OK enough with the chit-chat…ON WITH THE SHOW!!

The Secret Magic : 2 : The Uncontrollable

Hello's and Goodbye's

***

            Jade stepped into the room as quietly as possible, keeping close to the door, halfway hidden from view.  Peeking her head out momentarily, she saw her new tutor rummaging through a large chest, mumbling to herself.

            "Why don't you come on in here, Jade? I won't bite, I promise."

            A startled squeak and small jump was all the women could see from the corner of her eye as Jade quickly hid her entire body behind the door archway.  A small grin of amusement came across the woman's face.  She stood straight with a sigh and turned to the doorway, waiting patiently.

            Jade poked her head out from behind the doorframe again, this time, with a slightly more curious nature.  She looked at the women for a few seconds, evaluating, carefully weighing every detail with curious yet cautious eyes.  The only reaction the woman gave was to smile welcomingly.  Jade narrowed her eyes in suspicion.  Finally, throwing caution to the wind, Jade timidly stepped out from behind the doorframe, her one hand rubbing at the still slightly sore fingers of the other.  "Do tutors bite so that you would have to let me know that _you_ don't?" she asked carefully.  She nearly jumped back two feet when a strong burst of laughter tore out of the beautiful woman.

            "You have very strong Comprehension skills, Jade.  That's very unusual for a child your age."

            Jade's nose crinkled and her eyebrows came together in thought.  "Compre-what?"

            The woman smiled kindly.  "Comprehension.  It means you understand, or grasp, words and how they fit together.  It means you use your head."

            "Oh."

            The women smiled and then turned back to her chest, pulling out a long skirt and folding it.  Jade's nose crinkled again in thought, her hand coming up briefly to scratch at the scab that ran down her cheek.  She watched the woman place the folded skirt in a dresser and then pick up a pretty petty coat from the chest, folding it neatly.  Looking around the spare bedroom in her family's suite, Jade couldn't help but notice how different it looked with so many things laying around everywhere.  Chest and leather bags were strewn about the floor, and she had noticed one of the servant boys coming in and out several times with more bags.  In fact,….she scooted back quickly as the boy cleared his throat behind her.  He walked up to the woman with the leather bag.  "Pardon me, miss.  Where should I put this 'un?"

            "Oh, just right there on the bed is fine, thank you."  She smiled at him.  "Is that the last one?"

            "Yes'miss."

            "Oh, good.  Well, thank you.  You've been very helpful.  Here."  She reached into her pocket purse and pulled out a small copper, handing it to the boy, who smiled from ear to ear before thanking her profusely and skipping out.  Jade, still standing at the door to the room, followed the much taller boy with her eyes and head as he darted past her and out the front door; she blinked.

            The woman looked at Jade once again.  She smiled quickly and returned to her bags.  "You're offal quiet.  From what you parents told me in their inquiry letter a few months ago, you are a very articulate young lady."

            "Ar..Ar..Artiplote?"

            "Articulate." She provided helpfully and with a smile in her voice.  "Expressing oneself readily, clearly and effectively."

            "Oh," was all Jade said, a blank look upon her face.

            The woman continued with her unpacking.  Jade's eyes shifted away from her and back to the chest, with the same thoughtful look.  Again, she looked around the room.  Then, sighed.  She supposed it was inevitable, really.  Her parents had made their decision.  Maybe if she yelled and screamed enough – they'd change their mind.  But, that seemed like a lot of effort to go through.  She didn't feel like putting much effort into anything anymore.  It was just…confusing.  Because it just wasn't _normal_.  "Why are you here?"

            The woman stood straight and smiled brightly at Jade.  "She speaks!"

            Jade looked at her blankly, waiting for an answer.

            She seemed amused by Jade's expression.  She smiled again and then said, "I'm here to tutor you, Jade.  But I thought we had already covered that."  She reached down in the chest and brought out some slippers.  
            Jade sighed.  That hadn't been what she meant.  "No. Why are you here, moving into our suite?"

            "Well," came the simple reply.  "Because I have to live somewhere, right?  Why not here?"  She placed the slippers in the closet.

            Jade's eyebrows shot up at that, as if she couldn't really fathom such an odd answer.  Her head followed the woman back and forth across the room.  "But, why don't you live with _your family? Why do you have to live here?"_

            The woman smiled, and for the first time, Jade thought she noticed it become less bright, less brilliant.  "Because I don't have any family, not here.  I'm from Scanra."  She sneezed when she fluffed a cross-stitched pillow out from the chest and patted it, bringing up some dust.

            "Why did you leave Scanra?"

            "Because," and now she seemed almost sad, running her fingers over the stitching. "I wasn't allowed to stay there anymore."

            "Why?"

            And at that, the woman smiled.  Returning her eyes to the small girl.  "Curious one, aren't you?" She sighed again.  "Because the King of Scanra doesn't want me there anymore."

            "Why?"

            An unlady-like snort.  "Ah, the question of the day. "Why?""  She sat down on the edge of the bed, folding some stockings, and Jade found herself taking a step forward in curiosity.  "Because my Father is Scanran and My mother Serainian, and the King does not believe that Scanran noble families should…breed…with anyone who is not also a Scanran noble.  It's a fairly new idea.  One brought it by some Cartheki's from the south.  It's becoming more common among some of the kingdoms.  And so, I, being half and half, am no longer welcome there."

            It wasn't an answer jade could really understand, mostly.  And Jade found herself contemplating that, but it felt important to know.  Taking another step forward, she asked.  "Do you miss them?"

            "My family?" A nod. "Yes, very much so."

            "Are you ever going to be allowed to go back?"  Another little step.

            Deep sigh.  "I don't think so."

            "Does that make you sad?"

            "Yes."

            "Do they miss _you_?" Yet another scoot.

            "I think so.  I write to them as much as I can."

            At that, Jade stopped moving forward, looking down at her hands with pursed lips.  She looked up from lowered lashes and quietly whispered.  "Papa has to go away in a few days.  He's gonna be gone for a long time."

            The woman smiled sadly.  "Yes, I hear.  That is very sad news.  I'm sure you will miss him terribly."

            Jade nodded, taking the final step up to the sitting woman.  Deciding she didn't want to talk about Papa leaving anymore, she ventured a new topic.  "What…What do I call you?  Mistress Masson?"

            The Blonde smiled.  "You may call me Atune, if you like.  I've never been one for formalities."  Jade nodded.  "Well then," she stood and quickly patted her hands on her house apron and turned back to her chest.  "Lots to unpack still."

            Jade watched as the woman once again began sifting through her things.  Clearing her throat, she stammered.  "Would you…Would you like me to help you?"

            "Oh, would you? I would really appreciate it.  Could you take this and place it in that shelf. The one right over there.  She pointed and Jade obediently walked over to the closet and placed the blouse on it; Atune, wearing a small, self-satisfied grin on her face, continued with her work.

***

            The next few days passed without much incident.  Jade began lessons the next day with Atune; Reading and Writing.  Atune had been pleasantly surprised that Jade had already a firm grasp on reading – but was slightly confused that her writing skills weren't as advanced, since usually, you learned to read and you learned to write.  So, during the day, Atune had Jade working on, was her words.  Spelling mostly, fitting them together to form the words she already knew.  Vocabulary, Atune informed her, was the very crux of language.  How was she to know how to speak correctly, if she didn't have the words to do it?

            During the evenings, Papa and Mama would work with her on her magic.  She had a suspicion they were going about this blindly.  They seemed to be asking more questions than she was.  Every so often, Alanna would stop by to help. Onua came one night when they were trying to see if any Wild Magic techniques would work.  Mama and Onua both left that night with fierce headaches.  They wanted her to try and make the plant grow – she'd spent a good hour trying that, with no avail.  How about just making it move? She only got the plant to move by blowing on it.  Nothing she did made her magic work.  So she just kept trying…kept trying to make her magic work.

            It was, of course, a complete change of lifestyle for the five-year-old.  She had spent her entire life span, all five years of it, playing.  And now, she sat with Atune for hours at a time during the day and then with a gifted person during the evenings.  Mama told her to be happy that Atune often held lessons outside in the nice fresh air. 'Some students,' Mama had said, 'have to have lessons in a tiny, stuffy room at a tiny desk and hard chair.  Be happy.  So, she was happy, mostly.

            It was less than week since Atune had come, and she had seemed to adjust nicely to living with them.  She helped Papa out by organizing his study, which, according to Mama, was something she had given up on long ago.  He was also fascinated with Atune's Gift.  She had an unusual knack for water magic.  She could turn water to ice with a snap of her fingers, or bring it to a boiling point with a flick of her wrist.  Papa had literally plunged into his study and taken extensive notes; and Mama had warned Atune not to let Numair interrogate her to much, because he might wear her out.

            One night, she couldn't help but notice Mama seemed sad.  And she was fairly sure it was because Papa was leaving in the morning with Uncle George.  She sat in the main room that night, on top of one of Papa's chests, trying not to be to sad, because she didn't want to make Mama any sadder.  Mama and Atune were down at the stables, helping get the horses ready for the long journey that would start the next morning.  Papa walked in then, and smiled at her.  She lifted her eyes from the floor to look at him and tried to smile, tried to be brave.  He walked up to the chest she sat on and kneeled down, staring at her.  Jade swallowed, 'I won't cry, I won't cry'.  And she didn't.  But it didn't make her feel any better- in fact, it almost felt worse.

            "I really need you to be good for your mother while I'm gone," he said softly.  She nodded.  "I want you to listen to Atune.  Learn everything she's teaching you…I'm going to test you when I get back…I want to see how much you've learned." He smiled, joking.  She forced a smile on her face and nodded.  "And Alanna is going to be living at the castle to help his Highness, so you can go to her if you need to."  Another nod.  "And you know the Cassidy's are very nice.  If you need anything, they'll be there."  Tiny nod this time.  "And you know Eleni and Miles, right?"  Jade thought for a moment.  Yes…yes, she remembered them.  She didn't see them to often…they were always so busy with squire training…plus, they were much older.  16 or 17 by now.  But it wasn't to hard to miss them.  They both had fairly blonde hair with splashes of reds from their mother.  And even if there were girls in Knight training now, there were still less than half as many as the boys, so Eleni wouldn't be hard to spot; she remembered Thom was already a Knight.  She nodded; she remembered Alanna's twins.  "Good.  I asked them to look out for you.  I know a lot of the other children don't…understand…what's going on with you magic, and they can be mean.  So, if you need anything…Miles and Eleni said they'd help you out.  Plus, you have Amena." Nod.  "Six months, Jade.  Six months, and I'll be back. All right?"  She nodded again, still feeling as miserable.

            She swallowed hard and decided to speak, even if it did come out broken and sad.  "I don't want you to go, Papa."  Her shoulders shook.  And she scolded herself fiercely for it… 'No crying!'

            "I know," he said softly.  "I don't want to leave Mama and you by yourselves.  But sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do, because it's the right thing."

            She nodded.  "Six months," it was more of an affirmation than a question.

            "Six months," he smiled at her.

            "All right."  She bit at her lower lip and scratched her scab.  "Six months."  She thought for a moment.  "You'll be back for my birthday?"

            "Yes sweetling, a whole month before – just to make sure."

            She smiled at that and launched herself into his arms.  He held her tight and stroked her hair softly.  "I'm gonna miss you, Papa."

            "I'm going miss you too, sweetling."

***

            She sat on the windowsill, staring out into the night, fighting the tears that were fighting to get out.  "Atune said she'd keep an eye on Jade tonight," came Numair's voice from their room door.

            Daine turned to him and smiled through wet eyes.  "I like her…she's…different."

            Numair smiled.  "Different is one world for her….though I like Jade's description better… 'Weird', I think was the term she used."

            "I think she'll be good for Jade."  Daine sighed.  "She's been so quiet lately.  Like she's afraid to speak up.  Atune makes her curious, gets her to ask questions.  I don't want Jade to build a wall around herself."

            Numair nodded, looking at her intensely.

            Daine smiled a secret smile and smirked.  "Did I hear you say Atune would watch Jade tonight?"  He nodded…a smile breaking onto his face.  Daine smiled, a twinkle in her eyes.  "I knew I'd like that girl, she's very perceptive."

            "Yes.  Knew exactly what would be on our minds tonight.  Unusual, for a lady, that is."

            Daine snorted at that.  "I still can't believe we have an actual noble woman from Scanra working for us.  Its almost impossible to picture."

            Numair walked up to her, placed his hands on either side of her hips on the sill, effectively pinning her there.  "I don't want to talk about Atune anymore."

            Daine's breath grew shallow.  And she barely managed to get her voice to work.  "Me either."

            He leaned in then, and took her mouth.  It was sweet and hot and passionate and it hurt.  Gods, it hurt…because it would be one of the last kisses she'd have from him in a long time, and that pierced her soul.  He seemed to sense her thoughts somehow and pulled away, cupping her cheek and looking into her eyes, which were now filling with tears.  "What's wrong?"

            She closed her eyes and tears spilled over.  "I don't think I can do this," she whispered brokenly.

            Numair sighed and clenched his eyes, pressing his forehead to hers.  "I know.  It's killing me, too."

            She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her so he stood between her knees, as close to her as possible.  "I only get tonight," she said.  "It's not fair."

            He kissed her cheek and nose then, and moved down to her lips again as he gripped the sides of her face with his hands.  She responded, kissing him for all she was worth.  He moved his hands into her hair, tangling them in her brown curls, loving their silky texture.  Then he wrapped them around her torso, bringing her flush against his chest.  One moved down to her leg, gently running down her thigh, down to the bend of her knee.  He pulled her knee up then, up around his waist…and she instinctively wrapped both of them around him.  He picked her up, turned and walked to the bed.  He felt the edge with his knees as he walked up to it and gently lowered her onto it, never taking his mouth from hers.

***

            "This better turn out right," gritted George as he placed his last bag onto the horse.  I'll be missing my Miles' and Eleni's knighthood ceremony for this."

            "I know.  I'm sorry about that, George."

            "Na.  It's alright, lad.  I just wanna get this man, find out who he is.  He's been causin more and more trouble in Carthak.  The little rats been getting his claws into other kingdom's as well.  Scanra and Serain for sure…next thing ya know, the Copper Isles are gonna start reporting rebellions from the man as well.

            Numair sighed.  The situation had gotten worse and worse…It wasn't just a favor to the Emperor of Carthak anymore.  This assignment had become official Tortall business.  Which meant, it had become more serious to the safety of the kingdom.

            "We're ready to go." Stated George.

            Numair nodded and turned to his wife and daughter.  George walking up to his own family.  Numair stood there for a moment looking at them, filling his eyes with the sight of them.  Daine stood, tears in her eyes with Jade at her side, hand in hand.  Atune of to the side, making herself busy.  She smiled and nodded her good bye to him and he in turn smiled.  He looked down at Jade.  She seemed…distant…as if she were trying to ignore what was going on.  "Do I get a hug good-bye?" he asked.  Jade's head snapped up at that, and for a few seconds he thought she looked ready to cry – but then she sprung at him, wrapping her arms around his legs.  He reached down and picked her up, giving her a tight hug and kiss after kiss.  "I love you, sweetling.  Don't forget that.  Six months, remember.  Six months." She nodded and gave him one final fierce hug before Atune came up and took her from his arms.  He turned to Daine and felt his heart split.  She looked up at him and with tears running down her face, sprung at him, kissing him for all she was worth.

            He kissed her back, desperately trying to engrave every sweet taste of her mouth into his memory.  He hugged her as hard as he dared, scared to let her go.

            "I love you," she whispered.  "If you get yourself killed, I'll never forgive you."  He couldn't help it.  He let out a hoarse laugh at that.

            "I'll do my best, Magelet."  She pulled away then and he turned back to George, who had just finished kissing his wife thoroughly and saying goodbye to his three children: one tall strong redheaded boy and two younger, yet, just has strong twins…one boy, one girl.

            Numair mounted his horse as they began to ride off.  He turned back at the palace walls to looking one more time, to see Daine pick up Jade from the ground into a tight hug, Atune standing a few feet away.  He swallowed hard, trying to control the stinging in his eyes and throat.


	14. Shhh

            Ok…first I would like to let everyone in on my story timeline.  Some of you have noticed, correctly, that in my last chapter I named Alanna's twins something different from what is in Tamora Pierce's later stories.  I did this on purpose!  I might be flamed for this, but…seriously; I do not like any of the POTS books.  In my opinion, they are completely out of character for Tamora Pierce.  I do not know why she did, in my opinion, such a poor job on them.  Anyway, weather you like them or not, I am completely ignoring everything after 'the immortals' quartet.  Therefore, I can name anyone what ever I want.  So there!  Heheheee.  Besides, I want all three of Alanna's kids to be knights….it has a specific role in my story.  (Sticking my tongue out at anyone who does not like.)

            Ok.  Here we go.

The Secret Magic: 2 : Uncontrollable

Shhhh

*****

            The door swung open, hitting the opposite wall of the small inn room with a loud "BAM!"  George leaped to his feet, two daggers appearing in his hands poised for the attack.

            "Put those away George," came a tired yet angry voice from the rickety doorway.  Numair shoved the cloak off his head and undid the button on his neck, letting the light material meant for searing heat to fall from his shoulders.

            George heaved a great sigh.  "Numair, lad.  Ya shouldn't come bargin' into a room like that, specially when ya know the person in there has daggers, the skill to aim, and is hangin' on the edge of his last nerve.

            Numair sagged into a spiny chair and let his head fall back.  "Now I remember why I left Carthak in the first place.  The heat never stops.  Mithros!  There's probably still a foot of snow in Corrus right now."

            George smirked.  For a moment his face looked light, almost carefree; but a cloud seemed to come over his eyes, as he turned serious.  "Haven't seen you in over a month.  Thought something had happened, a few more days and I would have had the Emperors army storm the place."

            A large hand came up to pinch the arch of his nose in thought.  Then with a slight flick of his wrist, black magic flew to the corners of the tiny room.  "Their planning something.  I'm not sure what.  They're being careful, not letting anyone they aren't positive is loyal too close.  I haven't even been allowed into the camp meetings yet.  They keep close eyes on us newbie's.  I couldn't get away from the blasted camp for close to three weeks."

            George fingered his wedding band in thought.  "Wonder what they're plannin'.  Couldn't be anything to big, right?  Don't have the numbers."

            "I wouldn't be so sure of that.  They know what they're doing, have connections.  I heard a group of them talking about the new guard post the Emperor has set up.  They know a lot they shouldn't.  I'm fare sure they have plenty of people on the inside."  He took a deep breath before continuing.  "They even have connections in Tortall."  George's eyes snapped up at his words.  "I was sent to go get a basin of water for the camp leaders.  When I brought it in, they had a map of the palace laid out.

            George took that in with a hard swallow.  "Why would they try anything on the palace? They can't possibly have the numbers for that.  They'd have to get across the borders, then make the two week trip to Corrus…there can't be any possible way.  

            Numair stood up, his tall frame nearly touching the small wooden ceiling.  He paced to the small bed in the corner of the room and picked up a pile of parchment papers.  "Any news?"

            "Jon writes to say that Scanra's getting feisty.  King Henry wants some of the refugees sent back for trial."

            Numair's eyes turned hard.  "He wants the refugees back?  What for? To hang them for trying to stay alive.  He kicked them out.  What's he want them back for now?"

            "Easy Lad.  You know Jon wouldn't send that many woman and children back there.  It's just gettin' a bit rough is all.  With Serain's Warlord holdin' a grudge against us for havin' Thayet as our queen...and The Copper Isle's getting their pants into a twist over raiding ships they vow are ours….things are just…not goin' to well.  It's a good thing at least that the Tortallan princess is on the Cartheki throne.  We can at least count on that border bein' secure."

            "Hmm."  Numair rubbed his nose again, his eyebrows knitting together.  "I just don't get what he's trying to pull."  He laughed bitterly.  "Justice was right you know?  All those years ago.  She said that she had never met a more paranoid creature.  He stays so well hidden, not even his camp leaders know where he is."

            George leaned back, trying to think through his exhaustion.  "Everything else seems to running smoothly at the palace.  My Lioness has been in and out towards the north with Raoul, dealing with the mass numbers of refugees from Scanra."  He rubbed his neck tiredly.  "Daine's had to go up with her twice."

            Numair's head snapped up his head.  "Why did he send Daine?"

            "Scanra's closed their borders.  They've locked up tight.  They need a shape shifter to be able to get through the borders at will."  George eyed the nervous man.  "She's got the best chance lad.  She can hide in the wilderness better than anyone else can and she can rely on her magic.  And much like you, she looks like she could fit in."

            Numair laughed hoarsely.  "She's Gallan, George; not Scanran."

            Leaning forward, George emphasized, "She still looks more like a Scanran than any Tortallan could.  And…" he said with explanation, "…if all else fails, she can kick in her ol' accent and pass as a Gallan.  We need to know the numbers over there, Numair.  We can't risk turning our backs on them."

            Numair heaved out a deep sigh.  "Anything else?"

            George raised his eyebrows as he leaned back in a less serious mood.  "The City of the Gods has just released the names of three new wild-mages."  Numair's eyes perked up in interest.  "That makes the total number 7, including Daine." He scratched his dirty head of hair with irritation.  "Apparently the new ones have been paired off with three of the older ones…spreading them out along the northern borders.  The fourth….ummm, what was tha' girls name…"  George scrunched his nose in thought.  "Right….Candice or Cathy or something, she went with Daine.  She's not a shape-shifter though.  So she's mostly intercepting messages for Daine while they're up there."

            Numair nodded, his elbows resting on his knees and his chin resting in his hands.  His serious eyes looked tired and worn.  He heaved up on his legs again and stretched.  "Well, if that's all the information we've gotten…"

            "It is…sorry there, Lad.  Wish I could give you some more…personal information…about Daine and Jade and all.  But the only information getting through right now is important affairs of state."

            A tight smile was all the answer Numair gave.  He patted George on the back and reached for his cloak, securing it around his neck.  "That's alright.  I wasn't expecting any information of that sort to be coming." He cleared his throat.  "Well, I should be getting back, don't want them to miss me, now do I," said with a mocking tone.

            George walked over to the door to let him out.  Before Numair could pull back his magic, George asked in an urgent voice, "They aren't suspecting you or anything are they, lad?"

            Numair let out a bark of laughter.  "At the camp I'm at? There's one man there with the gift, only strong enough to cast sparks for fire's.  Frankly I'm worried they have something better than magic that they would ignore it blatantly.  Don't worry, George.  Everything's fine."

            George nodded.  "Right then.  I'll send your information up as soon as possible.  Unless we luck out, we won't have time to go deeper.  But we have a lot of useful information as is.  Two weeks Numair.  You get your Cartheki hind out of there in two weeks so I can get out of this death trap of an inn go home and you can get back to your lasses."

            Numair smiled tightly.  "Two weeks.  See you around George" The door slammed just as loudly as the tall hooded figure disappeared.

*****

            The man crept into the dark room, stale from lack of moving air.  "Everything is ready sir."

            A pair of beautiful brown eyes, marred by a set up what looked like nail scrapes, looked up in glee.  "The men are planted?"

            "Y…Yes sir," stuttered the man.  "Only thing left to do is wait for the Emper…" he stopped at the man's hard glare.  "I mean….for Kaddar to go to Tortall for treaty talks."

            The beautiful eyes moved from the shaking man to a figure seated next to him.  A middle-aged woman with confused veiled eyes.  "You look troubled, Clara."

            "I do not understand.  Why would you have to wait for Kaddar to leave Carthak, would it not be better for him to be in the country with the Tortallan Princess?  He'd be a much easier target here."

            The wide soft lips smiled in amusement.  "I'll be killing two birds with one stone, my deer."  His hands played with a sheathed dagger at his side.

            "Kill two…?" Her eyes grew wide.  "Alexander! Are you mad?" she stood to her feet, voice shaking.  "You forget I am from Tortall...I was there when the King was crowned.  I told you before, we have not the numbers."

            He stood up, anger sparking in his eyes.  "Silence, WOMAN!  I will not be told what to do by my bed whore!"

            Her eyes wide and head shaking; the woman took a few steps away from him, one hand up and shaking a finger wildly.  "No, no, no, no, no…."  She laughed unbelievingly.  In a loud voice, she exclaimed.  "I have SEEN what happens to those who take on the throne! It's not a pretty sight, Xander.  And they've much more numbers than you.  AND much more skill!"

            His voice was flat and edgy as he ground out in a toneless voice, "I am warning you, Clara…do not continue this unfeminine ranting and I will not punish you."

            The woman was shaking now, utterly terrified.  She tried for begging.  "Xander!  Please!  I am telling you this will not work! We will all be killed!  I do not want a part in this.  Kaddar is one thing…we can not risk angering them by killing Kal..Uugg…"  The woman fell over, a dagger impaled into her throat, blood seeping out rapidly.

The little man that had stood in the corner watching the conversation with wide eyes squeaked in surprise.

            The anger and madness seemed to seep from the deep chocolate eyes as he turned and wiped some splattered blood off his hand.  He looked back at the body for a moment and then back at the man with scrunched up eyes.  "You know?  I've never killed anyone before.  I mean…I have given the order for someone to BE killed, and even tried it once or twice myself without success.  But, never personally."  His eyes rose with indifferent realization.  "I don't see what the big deal is," he said, striding out of the room; the little shaking man backing up against the wall as he passed.  "I really don't."

*****

A/N:  Hmmm wonder wants goin' on.  Stay tuned for the next chapter.  Bwaaahahahahaaaa!   Hehe…bye now!


	15. A Science Trick

Ok…This is a really long chapter….so I hope you like it.  Just so we get this straight before you guys start wondering.  I AM NOT GIVING JADE SPLIT PERSONALITIES OR MAKING HER A SKITZO!  That is not what's happening…so I don't want to hear it.  Lol…anyways, hope you like it.

Enjoy!

*****

Complications: Uncontrolable

A Science trick!

*****

"I don't understand."

            "What is it that you don't understand?"  Atune reached for the roll of parchment that rested gently against the palace gardens newly sprouted grass.  Bringing it up to the small bench in which Jade and she sat working on her science.

            "You said that the nature, the laws of physicals…"

            "Physics," corrected Atune while reading the parchment silently.

            "Physics…" Jade repeated.  "You said they couldn't be changed."

            "I did."

            "Right."  Jade looked with expectant eyes at the woman.  "Sooo, now your saying that you can change things to the way we want them to be?"

            "Yes."  A quick smile and glance up.  "You added 11 + 4 incorrectly, Jade."

            The small green eyes girl narrowed her eyes at the woman.  "I did?"

            "Yes.  Your answer was 14."

            "Well.  I meant 15."

            Atune looked up and sighed.  "Jade, you must remember to check your work.  You know this material.  Silly mistakes like this will not do."

            Jade looked sour for a moment before jumping to the previous subject.  "So how can it be both?"

            Atune looked suitably confused for a moment.  "Both what?"  
            Jade sighed in exasperation.  "How can there be rules in nature that we can't change but we can change things the way we want them?"

            Atune set down the parchment and looked at Jade for a moment.  "Come with me."  She stood up and took Jade's hand, leading her to the kitchens.  Jade followed obediently, a look of utter confusion across he face.  They walked the end of the courts where one of the many kitchens were situated, calling inside, "Shini, could I have an egg and milk bottle please?"  With an egg in one hand, Jade's hand in the other, and a glass milk bottle in Jade's free hand, Atune proceeded back through the courtyards and into the gardens from where they had begun.  "Sit."  Jade slowly folded down and crossed her legs.  Atune gracefully lowered herself down onto the grass, her skirts fluffing up around her tiny waist.

            Atune placed the milk bottle on the ground.  It had a fat bottom that narrowed into a slender neck.  She then placed the egg at the opening of the bottle.  It rested there, to large fall through the slender neck.  After a moment of silence, Jade peeked up through her eyelashes.  "Nothing is happening."

            Atune smiled.  That egg is too big to get into the bottle, correct?  At least, not without breaking it first."

            "Uh huh." Jade nodded.

            "The laws of physics say that this object," Atune tapped the egg, "cannot get into this space," she then tapped the empty bottle.  Its environment will not permit it."

            Jade nodded, raising her brows in mock amusement.

            "But…" Atune ripped some paper from a spare piece of parchment.  She lifted the egg in one hand with the piece of paper in the other.  She whispered a word, and a small flame caught the paper.  Jade stared in curiosity.  Atune let the now growing flame and paper fall into the bottle, where the paper began to burn quicker.  She then placed the egg back onto the bottle.  It rested there.  The air inside the bottle began to fog and there seemed to be pressure building.  "If we change the environment in which the law exists…" Suddenly the egg dropped into the bottle, sucked straight through the narrow passage by lack of air.  Jade caught her breath in wonder.  "The law no longer applies."  They didn't pay much attention to the grass around them suddenly sprouting in a quick burst.

            Jade's eyes where large and round as she stared into the bottle.  "Mithros!" she whispered in awe.

            "Don't swear, Jade."  Atune smiled at the young girl.  "There are laws in our world that are set.  No matter what, we can't change them.  But, if we simply change the situation, we can get around those laws.  We can get the egg into the bottle," she gestured towards her proof.  "Anything is possible Jade.  Remember that.  The hard part is figuring out how.  It's a valuable lesson.  Not only does it apply to our natural world, but also, to our own personal world."

            Jade, who had been leaning up on her knees and peering into the bottle in curiosity looked up with sparkling eyes.  "What do you mean?"

            "I mean, if you want it bad enough, one day, you can learn how to manage your magic.  I know all the practice and lessons you've had all winter have been exhausting, but you have to remember that your mother just wants you to find a way to control it."

            Jade sighed, leaning back away from the bottle.  She _had_ been rather uncooperative lately.  The winter had been long and hard.  She felt smothered and cold the entire time.  More than not she had woken up from the depths of what she assumed were nightmares of suffocating under blankets of white.  The palace plants had been rendered dead at the very beginning of winter and the winter evergreens had grown to such a size that they were in danger of falling over.  With Papa gone, there didn't seem to be anyone around who could explain _everything._  Atune was smart, but she was not Papa.  On top of that, Mama had to leave three times already.  She wasn't gone long, two weeks at the most on each trip.  It made her unusually happy to know that she was due back anytime.  And now with spring just around the corner, that cloud of suffocating air seemed to float away with the winter.

            Her social life hadn't improved much.  If anything, it seemed to get worse.  Molena was nothing short of horrid towards her.  She had convinced most the other palace children that she was dangerous.  Somehow, she had managed to turn that fear into physical anger towards her.  On a number of occasions, Jade had been forced to run to an area with adults in it just to save herself a painful punch or two.  Amena, well, Jade was safe with Amena.  For some reason, they left her alone when Amena was around.  She guessed it was because that last person who shoved Jade down in Amena's presence had gone home with a black eye and a split lip.  That had startled Jade.  Amena packed a punch for such a little body.  But, much like the other children, Amena had to go to school during the day.  And with Jade having magic lessons most evenings, it left little time for time together.

            Jade sat back in thought, considering all this.  Atune simply smiled and pushed a stray golden lock behind her ear.  That caught Jade's attention.  She looked at Amena's soft crystal blue eyes and her soft white skin.  Her nose was flatter than most of the others around, but it wasn't ugly at all.  In fact, it seemed perfect for her.  Her eyes were wide set and her pink mouth was long and yet full.  She sat there in her blue and white skirts like a perfect lady, back straight, head up.  She looked younger today than she normally did.  Less…weighed down…by her thoughts.  "Atune?"

            "Hmm?"  She raised her eyes in question.

            Jade quirked her head to the side.  "How old are you?"

            A beautiful smile spread across the pale face.  "22."

            Jade scrunched up her nose and eyes.  "Why were you not married in Scanra?  I thought noble girls got married young there."  
            The smile faded only slightly, but her eye's crystal blue turned almost gray at the question.  "The king has been against children like me for many years now.  Almost 5, officially.  I was 17 then.  At marrying age.  When the declaration was made that we were filth children, that's what they called mixed children, none of the Scanran nobles wanted to risk angering the King by marrying me."

            Jade sighed and looked down in thought.  After a moment, "Were you going to marry anyone? I mean, did you want too?"

            Atune smiled and blushed.  "No.  I really didn't know that many men.  I grew up on my family's estate.  They only boys I knew were my older brothers."

            "Oh."  Jade got back up onto her knees and leaned over the bottle once more.  She peered inside the whole with one eye in childish curiosity.  "Atune?"

            "Yes?"

            Jade peeked out from the mass of curly hair that spilled around her face.  "How do we get the egg back out?"

            A smile churned at the corners of Atune's mouth before she burst out in laughter.  "I don't know."

            Jade looked back down at the bottle and egg before looking up once more.  Soon they were both laughing.  The grass around them spurted once again before turning brown and shriveling.  Jade's laughter died away as she watched the grass.

            Atune glanced at the grass and then at Jade.  She reached over and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders.  "Do not worry.  Remember, anything is possible.  We just have to find the way."

            A small smile played across Jade's lips.  Feeling a bit better she nodded.

            "Good."  She picked up the parchment with the math problems once again.  "Let's get back to these arithma…" A shout from the palace catwalks caught their attention.

            "Journeymen returning home!" The traditional call for returning palace officials sounded through the front courtyards and gardens.  Jade's head snapped around towards the gates that were out of sight as Amena looked up from the parchment.  "Journeymen returning home!"  Came the call again.

            Jade swung around to look at Atune with hopeful eyes.  Atune smiled warmly and nodded towards the garden wall door.  "Go on."

            Jade jumped to her feet and raced towards the wooden door.  She reached it in seconds and wrenched it open, disappearing on the other side.  Atune couldn't help but raise her eyes in curiosity as the vines that would eventually cover the stone walls of the gardens at the end of spring sprung to life from the ground and crawled nearly 4 feet up the wall in two blinks of the eyes.  She rose from the ground in a fluid motion and walked towards the door herself, stopping a moment to observe the plants.  They weren't very healthy vines, she noted.  They were almost yellow and dry looking.  She bit her lip in thought and her shoulders dropped as if coming to a conclusion she wasn't much happy about.  Mumbling her words, which were nothing more than thoughts spoken out loud, Atune walked out the wooden door towards the courtyards.  "Her power is growing."

*****

            Daine swung her leg over the spotted gelding and landed on the ground with a loud sigh.  She was tired, cranky, anxious, and above all in a good need of a long bath.  She patted down her forest green cloth coat and watched as dirt flew into the air.  She wanted to take the thing off, but it was still cold outside in the dying winter air.  She stepped through a puddle thinking it would wash off some of the dirt on her brown leather boots when she stopped in her tracks and raised one of the boots an few inches off the ground.  Groaning she spoke, "There's a hole in my boot."

            In the group of travelers, another woman, slightly younger with dull red hair, blue eyes and a face full of freckles laughed in mirth.  She patted down her own Hunter green jacket and proceeded to try and wipe off some of the dirt on her tan pants.  Readjusting her two belts, she then stretched her arms.  "I'd think it wouldn't matter at this point.  We look like we took a bath in mud."

            Daine snorted.  "It's a good thing these are just traveling uniforms.  I'd hate to think how much it would cost if we did this to our state uniforms."

            The woman laughed.  "Mine would cost 5 nobles to clean all the gold threads.  Yours however…It's to wonderful to clean.  You should keep it in a glass case for all time.  I'm almost envious."

            Daine smiled.  "Don't be.  It's may look pretty, but when you put it on, you don't want to move it cost so much.  You'd think the dratted thing was made for a Princess."

            "Well…" said the woman.  "It is…in its own way.  It was made for the first Wild Mage.  That's worthy of a Princess's dress, don't you think?"

            Daine snorted.  "Catalina, there is nothing to be envious about."

            The woman, who was at least three inches taller than Daine smiled warmly and motioned past Daine's shoulder.  "Oh, I wouldn't say that."

            Daine turned around to see a small figure climbing the courtyard steps as fast as it could.  Brown long curls blowing in the wind wildly as a thick brown outer cloak, heavy cotton shirt and pants and small booted feet came into view.  Her flushed cheeks showed as she ran towards them stood as proof of the still somewhat chilly air.  The small girl looked into the crowd of returning travelers for a familiar face.

Daine broke into a smile and stepped away from the group of dirty and worn travelers.  The little figure finally noticed her and with a loud and shrill "MAMA!" picked up her pace to an all out headfirst run.

Daine herself was not immune to the happiness.  She jogged towards her daughter, ignoring the squish in her boot and the cramp in her leg.  They finally met up in the middle.  Daine swooped jade up from under her arms and swung her around into a firm embrace.  Jade locked her legs around Daine's hips as she wrapped strong arms around her neck.

            "Oh, sweet!"  Daine kissed the small girl on the cheeks and nose and forehead over and over, shoving aside her thick curly hair with a free hand and then kissing some more.  "Jade! Oh, my Jade.  Mama missed you to pieces!"  A few more kisses, just for good measure.

            Jade squeezed as hard as she could.  "I missed you Mama!"

            "Oh, I know!  But not as much as I missed you!"

            "No.  I missed you more."

            "No way.  I definitely missed you more."  Another kiss…can't be to many kisses, right?  They passed off the falling evergreen tree right outside the palace walls near the forest as being cut down for wood.

*****

"What did you do on your trip, Mama?"  Jade curled up onto her side in the bed as her mother tucked her in.

"Oh, a lot of stuff."  Daine ran fingers through the girl's mass of curls.  "Mostly, I was just a messenger."

Jade yawned and nodded.  "Doesn't sound like to much fun."

Daine smiled.  "No.  It wasn't.  But someone has to do it."

"Oh."  Jade looked troubled for a moment.  "Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to go away again?"

Daine sat down on the small bed beside the curled up girl.  "Not for a while, no."

"You promise?"

Daine smiled sadly.  "I can't promise that sweet.  I don't know what will happen."  Jade looked sad momentarily.  "But I can promise you this.  I will try my hardest to always be here, ok?"

After a brief moment of thought, Jade nodded.  "Mama?"

"Yes?"

"When is Papa getting home?"

A small smile.  "Soon.  Very soon."

"Ok."

"Now it's time for you to go to sleep."

Jade nodded softly, drifting more and more off to sleep by the moment.  "Mama?" came a drowsy murmur.

"Hmm?"  Daine stoked her hair some more.

"Sing me a song?"

A soft smile.  "Ok."

"Every voice is silent 'round the world.

All the earth is sleeping on this night,

My tired little one, you are in my keeping.

I can hear you softly as you breathe,

Your tiny heart is beating,

Savor ever moment now my child,

For youth is surely fleeting.

I am here now,

Have no fear now.

I will keep you safe until the dawn.

Come, the sunrise in your young eyes,

All your tears and worries will be gone.

O, young you are,

But strong you will grow,

I watch your life unfolding.

So gently now,

I cradle in my arms

This miracle I am holding.

I am here now,

I will keep you safe until the dawn.

Come the sunrise in your young eyes,

All your tears and worries will be gone."

Jade had drifted off to sleep sometime during the song.  With a soft smile, Daine leaned down, gave the small girl a kiss on the forehead and lifted herself from the bed.  With tenderness, she covered the young body snugly and closed the door on her way out.

*****

            Daine flopped down on a cushioned chair in the common room and sighed.  "I need a good long night of sleep."

            Atune smiled.  "You must be so tired.  After such a long journey in such a short amount of time, what else is to be expected?"

            Daine smiled warmly at the young girl.  "I want to thank you, Atune.  You have been such a big help these past months.  It's more than what you signed on for by far.  None of this was expected of you."

            "Nonsense," snapped Atune.  "It's no trouble.  Jade is a wonderful child.  No trouble at all."  She smiled sadly.  "I like it.  Feeling useful.  I've never felt that way before.  In Scanra, growing up, I was just a prize for a noble man to win from my father.  Here, I have a purpose.  I feel needed."

            Daine leaned forward.  "You are needed.  We need you."  She smiled and reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded parchment paper closed by a wax seal.  "I managed to get this out.  You might find it interesting."

            Atune's eyes grew wide as she recognized the seal and then they watered in happiness.  "How did you get this?"

            Daine shrugged.  "I had to pass by on my way to the capital.  I thought they might want to hear news from you, and you might want to hear news from them."

            Atune held the letter to her chest and wept silent tears.  "I can't thank you enough, Daine.  This…" She gestured at the small letter.  "This…means so much to me."  She sniffed and then began her questions.  "Did you see them, speak with them?  How are my parents?  Well, I pray?  Have they heard from my brothers?  And the estate?  How was it?  In good condition?"

            "Whaa…wha…calm down."  Daine laughed.  "I think you mother does a good job at description in that letter.  She took a good two hours to write it."  Atune opened the letter with shaking hands.  There were at least ten pages of rapidly scribbled words, information on her far away family crammed into the letter.

            "I…I…I don't know what to say.  She wiped tears away from her blue crystal eyes before lunging at Daine, giving her a strong yet lady-like hug.

            Daine laughed and patted the girl on the back.  "It was no trouble.  Honestly!  I wanted to meet the family of the woman who is doing wonders for my daughter.  Jade seems so much happier lately.  Not so withdrawn.  I can't thank you enough for that.  I was afraid the incident in the market-place would never leave her mind."

            Atune smiled.  "She seems to be doing better, emotionally.  Although I fear some of the other children still continue to be cruel to her.  As far as her studies…" she groaned.  "I have a hard time understanding her.  Her learning style is nothing like I have ever seen before.  At the monastery, I taught younger girls.  They all had a pattern, a form of learning.  Jade…well, she has none.  It's the oddest thing.  She understands most anything you explain to her.  She catches on right away.  Practical skills are easy for her.  Even reading comes naturally to her.  But she seems to have problems with writing.  Which doesn't really make sense, considering how extensive her vocabulary already is.  She is progressing in arithmetic, though she could certainly try harder.  She has an unusual interest in science, though she has trouble in it.  It's almost as if…" Atune hesitated for a moment.

            "Almost as if what?" Daine prompted.

            Atune pushed on, trying to explain.  "It's almost as if I'm teaching two different children.  Two different personalities that clash.  They don't mix well together.  One always suffers while the other excels, depending on the subject.  I don't know how to better explain it."

            Daine concentrated on Atune's words with confusion.  "That's sounds so odd."

            "I know!  I don't know what it is.  But Jade is not a normal child, we already knew that.  It just…sometimes is seems like there's two Jade's in her head.  Do you understand?"

            Daine tried to piece together a puzzle for which she didn't have all the pieces for, the picture incomplete and indefinable.  She didn't want to believe that there was something _wrong_ with Jade.  There didn't seem to be a problem on the outside.  But when she thought about it, she started to see things as they were and not as she wanted to see them.  She recalled the fact that Jade always seemed to switch from one personality to another.  One day she would be a normal child her age, with the normal skills and growth.  The next she would seem to be able to understand anything you put in front of her.  "So…Is this bad?"

            Atune shook her head slightly.  "I don't see why it would be.  It's not like she has two entirely different personalities.  It just, maybe she sees things in to different ways…and hasn't quite figured out how to put those two perspectives into one picture yet.

            Daine nodded.  "Her magic…"

            "Is most likely a big part of it," Atune finished.

            Daine nodded.  "She's already so powerful.  If we could just find the switch…"  
            "It's not just that.  This magic…from what I understand, it's not entirely hers…" Daine nodded.  "That could be a problem in itself.  Draining spells only work for a short period of time because the caster can't hold on to magic that isn't his for a long period of time.  What if that's what's happening with Jade?"

            Daine squinted.  "Maybe.   But she's been fine, physically up to now.  Wouldn't it have shown signs of stress before?"

            Atune sighed loudly.  "I don't know."  A moment of silence between the two passed before Atune spoke up again.  "But it's getting stronger."  
            "What?"

            "Her magic…" Atune explained.  "It's stronger.  Before the winter came, most of the magic that showed was in small doses, save for the market place, which is accounted for by high stress levels.  Her magic seemed to…. slumber…I guess is the best word for it, this entire winter…"  
            "Like the rest of nature," Daine added in thought."

            "Right.  But it's picked up again.  And I've noticed, the last few weeks.  The effects are much stronger now."

            Daine rubbed her eyes in strain.  "She doesn't need this."

            "I know," Atune agreed.

            With a great heaving sigh and a moment of silence, Daine concluded, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it tonight.  Let's get to bed, huh.  I'm sure you want to read that letter."

            Atune looked down at her lap where the letter sat and smiled.  "Yes. I would."

            Daine stood and walked towards her room.  "And to think," she said as she walked through.  "All this magic talk without Numair here.  He'll be green with jealousy."  Both women laughed as they blew out the candles.

*****

Ok….hope you like that.

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW…see ya soon!


	16. The Welcome Wagon

Ok…next chapter is ready to go…this one is fairly short…but the next should be ready to go soon and nice and lengthy for all you inpatient peoples out there.  SMILE.  Hope you like it.

Karigan

Uncontrollable

The Welcome Wagon

They sat under the shade of an evergreen tree, avoiding the glare of the warming morning sun, Amena in a white shirt and tan breeches and Jade in a dark blue shirt and black breeches.  Two cloaks lay on the ground next to them in a sign of the ever-coming spring.  A checkered board sat between them.  Odd shaped pieces scattered all over the black and white squares.

            "This one…" said Amena as she pointed to what looked like a castle column, "Is called a Rook."  She picked up the piece and moved it around.  "It can go forwards and backwards, as well as sideways.  It's the strongest piece, next to the Queen.  Professor Lumbard says he's your best chance at getting a checkmate.  But you should use him sparingly, 'cause you don't want to loose him."  
            Jade nodded, absently playing with a stand of hair that seemed lighter than before.  "What about the horse?"  She pointed at the piece in question.

            "Ahh.  That one's the Knight."

            Jade's eyes grew wide.  "Oh."

            "This one…well, it's a bit complicated…it can move like an L.  Like this."  Amena proceeded to show the movements of the piece.

            Jade scrunched her nose up in confusion.  "It's too hard," she pouted.  "Is this what you do all day at school?  Play Chest?"

            Amena smiled.  "Chess.  No.  It's just a game that Professor Lumbard says will help our minds.  Teaches strategy.  It's really a fun game once you know how to play."

            Jade eyed Amena for a moment before opening her mouth.  "Amena?  What do you want to be when you grow up?"

            Amena smiled widely, her dirty blonde hair shinning prettily in the shaded sunlight.  "I'm going to be a Rider."

            "A Queen's Rider?" asked Jade in awe.

            Amena nodded.  "I'm gonna be the best Rider anyone's ever seen.  Just wait and see."  The proud look coming over Amena's face made Jade grin and jump in.

            "I'm gonna be a Rider too!"

            Amena looked put out for a moment.  "No."

            Jade sunk down in disappointment.  "Why not?"

            Amena got to her knees and leaned close.  "You're goin' to be a Mage, Jade.  A really powerful Mage."

            Jade sat back against the tree trunk, chess lesson now forgotten.  She folded her arms and mumbled grumpily.  "I don't want to be a Mage.  I don't like it anymore.  It's no fun."

            Amena looked curious.  "Why not?"

            "I can't do any of it," Jade whined.  "It's to hard for me.  Only time I can do magic is when I don't want to be doing it.  It's stupid."

            Amena grimaced a bit.  "It's hard.  But you know what?  It's going to be hard.  If it wasn't hard, I don't think people would think Mages so great."

            Jade slumped back.  "I guess."

            Amena smiled affectionately at the younger girl.  "Come on.  Let me show you what the Bishop can do.  He's fun.  He can…" A commotion from a nearby dirt road caught their attention.  They both looked over to see a group of men pulling a cart from the smaller gate at the side of the castle in which Amena and Jade had exited themselves to enjoy the budding spring.  One of the men was Amena's own father, looking over an assortment of metals.  "I wonder what's going on."

They watched the men push and pull at various things until one of the dirty men recognized them.  "Oh there, Christopher…isn't tha' your liel' un'?"

Amena's father turned towards the man's question and smiled at Amena and Jade.  "Ey there girls…avin' fun?"

Both girls nodded enthusiastically.  "I'm just teachin' Jade here how to play chess, Pa."

Christopher Cassidy squinted at the small girl next to Amena.  "Ehh, I thought the lass would be wanting to spend some time with her parents, now that Master Numair's back an all."

"What?" Jade asked in confusion.

"What do you mean, Pa?"

"Now that's interestin'.  Didn't ya here, little emerald eye? Your father and Master Cooper got back with a group of other travelers almost an hour ago.  They called out from the gates.  Though, I don't imagine you can hear 'em very well from way back here."

Jade scrambled to her feet, knocking over various Chess pieces in the process.  "I gotta go, Amena.  I'll see you later."

Amena smiled and sighed; opening a box, she began to patiently put back the pieces.

By the time she got to the main courtyards, Jade was heaving for breath.  It was a good five-minute run from the back corners of the palace where Amena and she had been playing.  She looked around frantically, but the last vestiges of travelers were quickly disappearing.  She stomped her foot in frustration before quickly scurrying up the servants stairway.  She pushed by various women servants on the way, shouting out apologies afterwards.  Down hallway after hallway she sprinted until finally getting to her family's rooms.  She jammed in the key that hung around her neck and turned it as quickly as possible.  Stumbling in, she called out.  "Papa! Mama!"  There was no answer.  She quickly checked all the rooms and growled in frustration.  She ran back out and down the hall towards the Lioness's rooms.  When she got to the rooms, she banged hard and quick…bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation.

She stared at the doorknob, willing it to unlock.  Strong arms enveloped her from behind, roaring in triumph.  A shriek erupted from Jade's lips; in the distance, freshly potted plants shattered their vases.  She couldn't see who it was; but when she was lifted from the ground in one swoop and swung around mercilessly, she smiled in glee and shrieked again, just for good measure.

Numair crushed Jade to his chest and swung her around.  Setting her down so she could turn around to look at him properly.  Numair smiled at Jade in happiness.  "I'd had hoped you'd be down at the entrance to great me?"

"I didn't know you were home, Papa."  Jade wrapped her arms around him and squeezed hard.  "Where did you all go?"

"Well, sweetling, everyone's down in the Dinning hall having a bite to eat.  Your mother's down there; should we join them?"

Jade nodded into his thick hair.  "Don't ever go away again, Papa," she whispered.

"I'll try my hardest, sweetling," he breathed.  He pulled back.  "Let me look at you.  I want to see how much you've grown."  He sized her up with sparkling eyes and gasped in shock.  "Jade, your hair.  What happened?"

She grimaced and picked up one of the short locks.  It barely touched her shoulders now.  "A week ago, I crawled through an hallow tree trunk with Amena and got sap in my hair.  Not even old Maude could get it out.  They had to cut it off, Papa."

Numair smiled and just hugged her harder.  "So, what do you want for your Birthday?  It's right around the corner."

*****

This was kinda a filler chapter.  The next one is gonna start out the main events of the story.  It's really complicated and involved, so we'll see how it goes.  Have fun. Bye for now!

Karigan


	17. The Quiet Years

OK…next chapter is up….I actually like how it turned out.  Like I said in previous chapters.  **I don't like the Protector of the Small Series**.  So I'm ignoring the fact that it exist and making things the way I want them.  Alanna's daughter is named Eleni in MY story…and in MY story….she is a Knight….. so PTTTTTTTTT~~~

SMILE ok…enjoy

Karigan

Uncontrollable

The quiet years

The spring came and went, along with her sixth birthday.  Most of it was spent with her parents, in attempts to make up for so much lost time.  Her father, especially, seemed to want to spend time with his wife and daughter more than ever.

She still had lessons of coarse.  Every morning, Atune would walk her outside into the gardens to hold lessons.  It made Jade wonder if Atune knew that Jade was much more comfortable out in the open.  Lessons consisted mostly of reading, writing, arithmetic and science.  Reading was her favorite subject, most likely because it was the only one she wasn't having trouble in.  She was already reading books beyond even Amena's level.

But she couldn't write worth a damn.  Her fine motor skills seemed to fall increasingly behind.  When she tried to concentrate, her hands would shake violently and her eyes would blur.  At first, Amena thought that her inability to control her hands was psychological, an after affect of last summers events.  But as time passed, Atune noticed that Jade's hands shook on a normal basis; they were just more noticeable when she was trying to hold them still.  They had her see a healer about it, but were told the only thing wrong with Jade was her energy levels.  "The girl is practically bursting at the seams with unused energy.  I can feel it fighting to get out.  She needs more open air!"  So, they added more playtimes to her schedule.  But as the months progressed, her quaking didn't subside.

Atune tried to encourage more arithmetic onto Jade, going as far as enlisting Amena, who was a blossoming genius at math, into tutoring her.  It was becoming apparently obvious, however, that Jade was simply not a math person.

Science was an all-together different story.  Jade mostly hated it.  Didn't care about most of it, Atune realized.  Oh, the occasional science tricks caught her attention, but Jade wasn't willing to learn the specifics.  Atune almost thought science a lost cause until one day, by mere coincident…

*Jade was running her hands through a patch of pure white daisies one summer morning while Atune read from a book about bugs.  "It's funny," interrupted Jade suddenly.

Amena looked up with raised eyebrows.  "And what is that?"

"The Daisy," Jade pointed out.  "Its leaves look like little arms.  It looks like a little person."

"Well, in a way, they are like arms."

"Really?"

"Of coarse, a plant's leaves are very important to its survival.  It has as much space as possible on it to collect sunlight."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…look." Atune bent down and pushed the leave aside to see it better.  "This entire leaf has one very specific purpose.  And that is to collect sunlight."

"Why sunlight?"

"Because plants need sunlight to live.  The energy from the sun is their food."

"Wow."

"So, much like we use our arms to collect the things we need to survive, a plant is the same.  They just do it a little different, is all."  Atune eyed Jade as the day progressed, wondering if Jade's first real initiative into asking a question meant something bigger.

**That evening**

Atune entered into Jade's room as the girl pulled on her little boots for magic lessons.  Jade smiled up at her.  "Whatcha got?"

Atune looked down at the book she held in her arms.  "Well, I thought you might like this."

Jade got to her feet and walked over, head tilted to the side in curiosity.  "What is it?"

"A book.  About plants."

Jade's eyes lit up.  "Really?"

Atune nodded.  "Yes.  It had lots of wonderful facts about them.  It occurred to me, and your father agrees, if you are going to learn your magic, you should know all about it first.  Maybe, by learning more about plants, you could do better."

Jade took the offered book, and sat on the edge of her bed.  Flipping it open, her eyes grew larger than life at the wonderful book.

Atune smiled and decided that science would have to be concentrated on vegetation from now on. *

…Jade had turned to science that day like a parched fish to water.  And it was of little wonder, too, with her magic the way it was.

The summer months passed without much incident.  The only news worthy happenings was the return of Daine's Dragonet, kitten, who had spent almost 3 years in the Dragon realms with family.

Numair and Daine spent most of the summer between Jade and the courts.  The tragic events of the past summer had born revenge hungry city folk against Jade.  They called her a demon of chaos, demanded the girl be taken to the city of the God's for cleansing of whatever had possessed her to kill.  Jade was shielded from them, of coarse.  She had very little knowledge of the happenings.  She knew, that on occasion, people who knew her face would scream foul words at her.  Some of the palace servants were downright terrified of her, ordering their children away from her.  Molena and her friends, forbidden to associate with her, resigned themselves on playing malicious tricks.

People say that time heals all wounds…perhaps it's true.  But with Jade, who on numerous occasions that summer **accidentally** grew poison oak in the palace stables, time only seemed to worsen the wounds.  People never had the chance to forget her; a trail of rotting vines or a bush that suddenly grew five feet was no longer rare occurrences.

Yet not all were against her.  Her parent's closest friends protected her as well.  And even…unexpected…support emerged from time to time…

*Jade was running towards the stables, a note clutched in her hands.  An errand her mother has sent her on.  She hit the last step and bounced out the door into the courtyard when suddenly her feet were no longer under her.  She flew forwards, her arms outstretched.  She landed hard on her stomach and slid across the hard packed dirt of the courtyard for a good two yards before skidding to a stop.  The stinging started then.  Her hands, elbows, knees, chin.  She wanted to cry…but sudden laughter from around a corner made her head turn.  Molena and a group of children she knew were giggling from around the corner, pointing at her.

She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and ordered herself not to cry.  It worked, mostly.  She let out one little sob of hurt and pain.  Green sparks seemed to fly out with her sob and the ground underneath her shuttered slightly before budding a handful of weeds.

Molena gasped in horror.  "See, she **is** a freak!"  The lovely little dark haired girl expected the other children behind her to laugh.  When she got no response, she turned to see what the deal was.  All four of the other children stood, faces down, avoiding her gaze.  That's when she noticed the fifth person.  But, taller.  Much taller.  Molena's face rose with the figure until she gulped in realization.

A tall young woman stood there.  She had long (reaching to past the middle of her back), slightly curled, mostly blonde hair.  But when she moved slightly, the natural red streaks shone in the sunlight.  She had hazel eyes that burned with some emotion.  Her nose was larger than beautiful, but still, not unattractive.  A dusting of freckles on light skin and elfish ears made her seem mischievously dangerous.  She was tall, slender, and yet very strong.  In breeches and a tunic that wrapped around her upper body tightly for training, her well-developed muscles were obvious to even to the least trained eyes.

Molena gulped at tried to smile.  "Good Morning, Sir Eleni of Pirate's swoop."

"Good morning."  Alanna and George's daughter looked around.  "I just came down to the practice courts to meat a friend of mine for a practice bout.  I noticed that rope you placed at the entrance of the courtyards."  She looked down at Molena and the children with disapproving eyes.

"Well, I, I mean, we…"

"Save it!"  Eleni held up her hand in emphasis.  I think old Stephen in the stables needs help mucking up the horse droppings, his stable boy has been sick for a while.  There should be enough horse stalls for the five of you to clean to last the rest of the day…you should probably go tomorrow as well, don't want to push the young lad to hard before he is fully recovered, now, do we.  Oh, and…I'm sure there are potatoes that need pealing for tomorrow's dinners; after you've cleaned up from the stables, why don't you go help the cooks with that.  I'm sure that way your free time can be put to **better** use."

The five children trudged away at Eleni's stare.  Turning back to the small person now sitting on the dirt ground looking at her knee, Eleni walked up to her and kneeled down.  "You all right, Jade."

Jade looked up with pain filled eyes and nodded.

"Well, you look a bit scratched up there.  Why don't I take you to the healers, hmm?"  With that, Eleni reached down and scooped up Jade with ease. *

From that day forward, the young woman seemed to show up at the most inopportune moments for Molena and her friends.  Jade was grateful, of coarse.  Though they never really talked to each other, there seemed to be some kind of relationship.  Like cousins, one much older, assigning herself to look after the other on occasion.  Jade didn't feel so alone after that.  Amena was wonderful, just like a sister.  Jade had begun to worry she would never have any other friends that weren't adults.  Though technically, Eleni was an adult, a full-fledged Knight and all.  But still, it was the thought.

Summer zoomed by in peaceful glory for Jade.  Her parents seemed mostly happy.  On occasion, they were worried for some reason.  She knew it wasn't about her.  Her magic, that is.  It was about something else, perhaps the same reason they had been forced to take their trips the past year.  And it wasn't just them.  When all the palace names walked around in a temper over something, her parents seemed to be a part of it.  When she asked Atune about it, her tutor simply said.  "They all have a kingdom to protect, Jade.  Sometimes, that takes a lot of time and hard work."

Fall, was exactly like the last one.  Except, this time, both her parents were there to share it with her.  Numair began to worry that Jade wasn't progressing with her magic.  Meditation, numerous visiting masters, even a chat that had been held during the spring solstice with Daine's parents had yielded no fruit in their endless search for answers about Jade's magic.  "I've never heard of it," the Green Goddess had said.  "But you must remember, I am still a very new Goddess.  I will ask your father about it."

But despite all that, Numair refused to give up, burying himself in the library for countless hours at a time.

When winter came, every thing inside Jade changed.  She never said anything to anyone about it.  But she could feel it.  For the first time, she could feel her magic moving inside her body.  Could feel it move into her toes and fingers, legs and arms, feel it rush through her heart.  She didn't think much of it, until one day, while trying to move a chest across her room, she stubbed her toe.  She had felt the magic inside her suddenly unite into one big ball in her stomach and explode out of her when she yelped in pain.  Green magic had ripped from her body and hit the wall of her room.  Within five seconds, the entire wall was covered in thick-knotted vines of Ivy.  Her parents surprised faces that evening had been a sight, to say the least.  But she never told them about the feelings inside of her.  She couldn't.  Because that was the first time she had felt terrified of her magic.  She knew what she was capable of; the market place had proven that.  But while she had been unhappy about her magic then, she was now horrified by what was inside her, because now she could feel it.  Which, the though, was possibly a good think…but in the end…fear won out.

As winter progressed and the snow returned, so did her nightmares.  Dreams of being smothered under blankets of white kept her up at nights.  Her parents comforted her, taking turns sleeping next to her.  But it never stopped the dreams.  The only good thing about that winter was Jade's magic slowing again, slumbering.

But just like nature, when the spring arrived that next year, her magic returned with a bang.  Stronger than ever.  Accidents were less frequent, but larger, more troublesome.  Her seventh birthday came and went; and she hardly noticed she was so busy with lessons.

But to her delight, as summer came, Jade's magic seemed to take a break.  And for the first time in years, she felt like she could venture outside without causing trouble.  Her seventh year was the best of her life, she would recall years later.  It was the year everything seemed to be perfect.  She tried to hold onto it as best she could, but the wonderful summer changed into a peaceful fall, and the shifted into a quiet and nightmare free winter.  Before she knew it, her eighth birthday came  As did the worst year of her life.

*****

Ok…I've already started my next chapter…so it should be up soon.  Hope you like this one.  I didn't get as many reviews for the last two chapters as I'd hoped.  But I'm SURE I'll get more this time, RIGHT???!!!???

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!


	18. Festival

This is a fun chapter…I almost forgot I was going to put all this stuff in…but then I remembered…A good thing too, cause it's real important later on.  Anyways…here it goes…!

Karigan

Uncontrollable

Festival

            The first thing that came flying into her conscience was that the bed was bouncing.  "Wha?" came the sleepy question.

            "Get up, Jade!  Come on.  You have to come see this!"  Amena was bouncing up and down on the edge of Jade's bed.  Kitten, who had taken to sleeping in her room when her parents were otherwise occupied, had already scurried to the cushioned chair in the corner of the room with sleepy indignation.

            Jade peeked out from her closed eyes and looked towards her window; the sun hadn't even fully risen yet.  She pulled the covers up over her head with a groan.  "Go away, Amena."

            "Owww, come on, Jade.  You won't want to miss this." The 11-year-old girl pulled at the covers.  Jade clung to them in defiance and curled up.  They both pulled on the blanket until Jade finally let go, sending Amena down to the floor with an "Oomph."

            Jade, now without a cover, curled up into a tiny ball and turned away from Amena.  "I want to sleep."

            Amena stood with a grunt and pouted her lips.  "Fine!" she started towards the bedroom door.  "But don't blame me when all the others have seen the spring festival preparations and you haven't."

            Jade sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes.  "They're here already?"

            Amena turned with a wide smile, took a running start and bounced onto the bed, yet again.  "Yes, of coarse they are.  Spring Festival is only two weeks away.  They arrived at least an hour ago.  Pa had to go out and help them set up the tents out on Main Street."

            "Oh."

            "Well?" came Amena's whine.  "Are you coming or am I going by myself to see the Sky Fire they have set up for this year?"

            "I'm coming, I'm coming." Came a sleepy reply.  Jade fell out of bed and scrambled for some clothing.

She was tying the strings to her breeches when Amena tossed boots at her.  "Come on, Jade.  You're so slow!"

            "I am not!" came the appalled reply.  "It's been two minutes, Amena!  Get off my back!  UMPH!" Jade scrambled not to drop the boots Amena had tossed at her.  She sat on the edge of her bed and pulled one on.

            "Let's go!" Amena said, running out the door.

            "I'm…coming…hold…on," came the breathy reply as Jade attempted to run after her while trying to put on her second boot.  They ran into the living quarters and were slightly surprised to see Atune, clad in a blue robe, blocking their way.  
            "And what are you two up to?"  Hands on hips.  Suspicious.

            "Atune, we want to go see all the things they're bringing in for the festival."

            "**This** early?"

            "We don't want to miss anything." Amena said pleadingly.

            "I don't think your parents would want you to going out into the city this early."  Amena said responsibly.

            "Oh, it's not that bad.  Everyone is already up for the preparations.  Besides, I go everyday into the city for school.  I know where I'm going.  We won't get lost.  I promise."  Amena begged.

            Jade nodded in agreement.

            "Well…"

            "PLEEEASE???" Both girls begged with puppy eyes.

            Atune sighed.  "All right.  But be back in time for both of you to get to your classes and lessons."

            Both girls launched themselves at Atune and hugged her fiercely.  "You're the best adult there is, Atune." Came mumbled words from Amena.

            "Right."  Jade.

            "Go, now.  Before I change my mind."  With that, the girls dashed out of the rooms with glee, Atune shaking her head as she walked back to her room.  "Best 25 year old adult.  Wonder why they don't say that when they're scrubbing the floors for putting coloring in the provosts bath water?" she muttered to herself.  She stopped for a second and looked back at the entrance door.  "I'd still like to know how that girl gets in here," she said, referring to Amena's occasional morning visits.

*****

            "…And there were all kinds of stands being set up, Mama.  I think they're going to have games, too."

            "Is that so?" Daine asked with a smile.  Evening had almost ended.  Jade had been bathed and was now sitting with Daine having her hair brushed.

            "Yup!  Oh! And Music, Mama.  They're going to have music!"

            "I would hope so."

            "They had funny instruments.  I"ve never seen some of them before."  
            "What did they look like?"

            "They were made of wood.  And they had strings on them.  And another piece…a stick…made of wood too."  
            "I think you mean Violins."

            "What are those?"

            "Instruments.  You'll get to see them when you go to the festival.  They make pretty music."

            "I like music.  Will there be dancing?"

            "Of coarse, they always dance at the Spring Festival."  
            "What kind of dance?"

            "Some traditional ones…like you see at the banquets here in the palace.  Some just for fun.  They always dance the Festive Overture Dance at least once.  That one is a lot of fun."

            "Why?"

            "Because it's danced with lots of people together.  At least 10 couples.  They change partners.  It's a fast dance, you're breathing hard by the end.  But it's a lot of fun."  
            "Are children allowed to dance it?"

            "Yes…if they know the steps."

            Jade jumped up and around.  "I want to dance it!"

            "Well, you're still a bit young.  Maybe in a few years.  Besides it takes longer than two weeks to learn.  And you need some practice first."

            "Well, can you start showing me so I can dance it next year maybe."  
            Daine smiled.  "All right.  Stand up," she said with a slight shove.  Kitten, who had been dozing on Jade's pillow lifted her slender neck and head up in interest.  "Stand in front of me like this, hands on hips.  We'll take it slow.  Now, everyone will be lined up like this left to right.  When the music starts.  You start with your right foot.  Take a step forward, but across your left foot like this.  Then your left foot comes up and taps the back of your right leg in a little hop like so.  Good, you're doing well, Jade.  Now, while your doing this, your hands are going to be up like this, one hand over your head, wrist bent, the other arm in front of you, wrist bent.  This is what the women do.  The men do something different with their arms but do the same step.  Now, after you tap the back of your right foot with your left, you are going to return your left foot to where it started.  Your right foot…hold on. Put it back, don't move it yet….good….now, your right foot, the one you crossed over, is going to come back to be across your left leg up nice and tight.  But your going to just lightly tap the ground with your toes, because the next thing your going to do is swing your right leg up slightly and around back to your starting position.  So its going to be…step, tap, step back, toe tap, swing your foot over and back."  Daine did a quick show, using her arms to style the dance.  "You do the same again, but the other way around, starting off with you left foot.  Let's try it."

            They took a few steps, but fumbled, bumping into each other.  Laughing, they tried again and again for the next hour.  Daine twirled her around the bedroom, showing her the exaggerated bows and curtsies, even tried it once up to speed…though it hadn't been pretty.

            "Now, pass each other….no..the right side, Jade.  Good."  More laughs.  "OK, now, up to me, grab my hands and we swing around, remember by now, everyone's in a big circle so you're going to swing right into someone else, you got to keep swinging until we get back to each other.  Once you see me we swing around, but different like this…step out then in…so we make a full circle back to each other…" Kitten sat, head slightly tilted to the side, trilling in laughter.

            It was a night Jade would remember always.  Precious memories of laughter and smiles from her mother would fill her mind for years to come.  Dancing with her until they both fell on the bed in exhaustion, laughing so hard from their fumbled dance that they were red in the face.

*****

            "What was all the noise about?"

Daine climbed into bed and curled up against Numiar's side, resting her head over his heart.  "I was showing Jade the Festive Overture dance."  A slow smile crept across Daine's face.  "Still needs a little work, though."

"I'd say.  It sounded like a heard of elephants tripped and fell in there….OW!"  Numair laughed and rubbed his side where she had elbowed him.

Daine giggled and tried to sober.  "We have to get up early tomorrow.  That meeting with the Scanran ambassador."

Numair sighed.  "Hmm.  These border raids are starting to get out of hand.  If they can't cut a deal tomorrow…I'm afraid Scanra may be leaning towards war."

Daine leaned up on her elbows, looking down on him.  "You don't think it will come to that, do you?"

"I don't know, Magelet.  At this point, anything is possible.  They've had their borders closed for almost 4 years now.  They've lost control of most of their villages.  Grain isn't getting to the cities…and that King of theirs…if he doesn't stop killing off all his noble supporters…well, let's just say, he's not being very wise."

"If they declare war, we're going to have to go up there…the both of us.  To fight."  Daine looked down in anxiousness.

He breathed in deeply.  "More than likely.  Your border hopping a few years ago did a lot to prevent raids on Tortallan villages by the border; they'll want you up there again.  As for me, well…being a War Mage doesn't really make much other use for me, does it?"

"Nonsense.  You have lots of uses."  She looked distressed for a minute.  "What about Jade?"

"Well…Atune is here if we need her.  I'll talk to Gary about letting them stay at his estate if we end up in war.  They'd be safer there.  The capital would be to much of a target."

"Send her all the way to Naxen?  That's so far!"

"What else is there to do, Magelet?  Corrus is a main target in wartime.  Tusaine has already given Serain crossing rights for its armies.  If Maren gives in, Serain will attack.  That's the entire eastern front.  That's not to far away at this point.  And Scanra takes up the entire Northern front.  The only allies we have at this point are Carthak and the Copper Isles.  And the Isles are iffy at best.  It's a good thing Tyra has always stayed neutral; their flat plains would make the southeastern border an easy target.  There would be warships trying to attack Port Cayne all the time.  If Cayne is taken…Corrus is only half a day's ride from there.  Jade would be safer away from the capital."

Daine sighed and, trying to be positive, rushed on.  "But it's not for sure yet.  Hopefully the ambassador will be in a good mood tomorrow and willing to talk."

"We can hope," came Numair's quiet response.  "But don't get your hopes up."  He stroked her hair gently, running fingers through the curly strands.  He smiled then.  "Have I told you today just how beautiful you are?"

A small grin splayed out across her lips.  "No," she said.

"Well then." He rolled them over so that he was looking down upon her now.  "I'll just have to show you."

Daine giggled, worries temporarily forgotten.

*****

"Did they say what happened?" called out Amena as they pushed through the crowd of people."

"No," called out Jade.  The Spring Festival was in full swing.  Thousands of people had turned up to set up stands and gather.  Nearly all the streets around the palace's main gates were crowded with celebrants.  Amena and Jade had been given one hour "…and stay on the mains streets.  I find out you two have been sneaking off to the smaller roads and I'll turn your behinds purple, understood?" Amena's mother had declared; to roam the festivities and have fun.

Jade had become much more comfortable around crowds the last year.  With her magic seemingly under some kind of control, the chances of 'accidents' happening where much less and therefore, less mind-consuming.  She was still cautious, always double-checking herself for the humming inside herself that represented the unstable magic.

"No one said anything to you?" asked Jade as they pushed through some people to see a fire-eater.

"No one ever tells me **anything**!" growled Amena.

"But you always end of knowing anyways."

"Well…I have to have some occupation, right?"  A toothy smile.

"Hmm."  Jade once again wondered if Amena's natural talent for sneaking around was a good thing.  "Anyhow, all I know is that they came back from having that meeting and they were both really angry.  Kept yelling about stupid aricrats."

"Aristocrats?"

"Ya.  That."

"Which one? Do you know?"

"I think he was important.  'Cause Mama started crying about how Scanra was going to give up everything just for pride."

Amena turned around and stared at Jade for a moment.  "That doesn't sound good at all."

Jade shook her head.  "That's what I said."

"Hmm…" Amena thought.  "Hey, look.  Candy apples.  Maybe this time we can actually eat them, huh."

Jade scrunched her nose up.  "Not funny."

Amena snorted.  "You need to get a sense of humor, Jade.  You're way to serious."

They walked their way up the main street again, candy apples in hand.  "Amena! Jade!" came a call from somewhere in the crowd.  They both turned to look for the source of the yell.

            A boy, a bit older than Jade popped through the crowd.  Jade smiled.  He had been one of they few children at the palace that **didn't** make her life horrible.  He was quiet most of the time, shy, under spoken, often times needed his own protection from cruel pranks.  He was small for his age.  His hazel yes were set wide apart and he was cross-eyed; which made him clumsy.  His light skin was always scratched up from either his clumsiness or from encounters with other boys.  He had a slight stutter and was nervous and twitchy most of the time.  But Jade thought he was nice, all the same.  He wasn't afraid of her.

            "Hullo, Gregory!" called Amena.

            "Hi!" smiled Jade.

            He smiled at Amena's greeting and then turned to Jade.  At her smile he blushed scarlet and tried to speak.  "I was…I w..w…was just coming' to s…s…see if you two wanted t…t…to go see the Fes…fes..festive Oveture Dance.  They…they..they…are going to start i..i…i…in five minutes."

            Amena jumped and screamed in glee…Jade smiled wider.  "Of coarse we'll go!" Amena and Jade both took off at a run towards the Palace, Gregory starring after them.  He was slightly surprised…and a bit flustered…when Jade ran back after a moment and grabbed his hand.

            "Come on, Gregory!" She pulled him along.

            The palace gates had been opened up to the festivities.  The courts were set up as areas for dancing.  The entrance court, the largest, was now being filled with dancers.  The three children pushed through and sat directly under the ropes that had been put up as a barrier.  People were filling in.  Twenty couples at least were already inside.  Some were people she recognized from the palace.  Some she had never seen before.  Seats with guards had been set up at one side of the circle for the King and Queen, who this year would be spectators.  Jade didn't get to see them as often as she had when she was younger.  They looked happy to her; in a good mood.  Though they seemed much older.  To the surprise and splendor of the crowd, Prince Roald and his wife, the future Queen, stepped up to the circle.  Applaud and cheers rung out.  Their young son, only a year younger than Jade, sat with his grandparents, watching with a smile.  A man stepped up onto a wooden box, and screamed out.  "Your majesties…with your permission, we will begin the Overture Dance."

            King Jonathan smiled and waved him on.  The crowd roared with delight.

The man ran around quickly, placing the pairs in their lines.  A group of musicians filled in and stood at the corner of the courtyard.

            After a few minutes, they seemed ready, as did the dancers.  Jade suddenly gasped.  "What?" asked Amena.

            "Look!  Over there." She pointed the far corner of the couples.  "Amena.  Those are your parents!"  Amena gasped as well and nearly yelled out.

            "I hope they don't mess up," she laughed.

            "I think it's wonderful," Jade laughed.  "I wish I could dance."

            Gregory looked over and quietly said.  "When we're old enough…I'll dance it with you."  He blushed scarlet and looked away, ashamed of himself.

            Amena looked over and smiled.  Jade look amazed.  "Gregory!  You didn't stutter once."

            Gregory smiled shyly.  "I guess not."

            Jade beamed.  "Well, when we're old enough.  I'll dance with you Gregory."  Jade turned back to the dancers and pointed something out to Amena, Gregory smiling stupidly.

            "They're starting!" called Amena.  The musicians' put up there instruments and the couples straightened up.  Even the Future King and Queen looked equal tonight.  A man with a violin began with a slow and pretty number.  It was sad, Jade could tell, telling a story of some kind.  She was trying to figure it out when suddenly all the instruments came in with a speeding tempo.  She snapped her head back towards the couples and was surprised to see them dancing away in a perfect rhythm.  She recognized the step, tap step back, toe tap and swing over and smiled with glee.  The music was festive and wonderful and Jade couldn't help but bounce along with it as many other watchers were doing.  Soon the footwork ended and the swinging began.

            Jade stared and smiled, as so many people were able to do the same thing.  They formed into a circle and the music changed.  It was still fast passed, but the song shifted.  Where as before, one could hardly hear the five violins before, probably because of the horns that played, suddenly the violins were center stage in the music.  They did some sort of run up and down the scale, twice, and then into a melody that was wonderful.  They repeated it again, but this time, it sounded deeper, other instruments that looked much like the violin, but very different, had joined in, they had a much lower sound, but just as pretty.  It made the melody deep and rich and Jade loved it.  She joined in when the crowd started clapping in rhythm with the beat.  The couples grabbed hands and swung each other around.  They were laughing and grinning.  She caught sight of Onua and was momentarily surprised.  She recognized the head cook in there and even thought she saw old Maude giving it a go.

*****

            "Did you see it, Mama?  Wasn't it wonderful?" Jade gushed as the three children ran up to the waiting pair of parents.

            "I did!" said Daine as she picked her up.  "It was beautiful."

            Numair smirked at Amena as she begged her father for another few coppers and greeted Gregory.

            Jade turned to the Cassidies and smiled.  "Was it fun?  Was it hard?"

            Amena's father smiled, still out of breath.  "I think this will be the last year we do it.  I'm getting to old."  He group laughed.

            "Mama!  I even saw ONUA in there!"

            "I know!"

            "And old Maude!"

            "Ya," Amena agreed, taking a huge cracking bite out of her candy apple.  "The old bag looked like she was going to burst a lung."  Her mother smacked the back of her head lightly, but laughed anyways.

*****

            The rest of that spring passed uneventfully.  Jade's magic continued to lay mostly dormant, bar the occasional mishap.  When the weather turned heated and children ran around without shoes, preparations began at the capital for an event that the people of Corrus had been waiting for for almost eight years.  Their Princess, the Empress of Carthak was coming to Tortall with her two children.  The decision had been made and preparations were in full swing.  They were to arrive at the end of fall and stay until spring.

            Officially, it was a state visit.  The two friendly kingdoms had much to discuss, the situation being as it was with surrounding nations.  But the King's closest friends knew, as did many of his subjects, that the King and Queen were anxious to see their only daughter again after so many years.

            By the end of summer, servants were frantically arranging the palace to hold not only a handful of ambassadors, but also an Empress, her ladies, her two children, one who was the heir of Carthak, her guards, the heirs guards, the princess of Carthak's guard, and various nurses and priest.  There was plenty of room, of coarse, a good quarter of the palace rooms were never even used regularly.  The trouble was getting them all ready and aired out before the Empress arrived.  Along with that, feast had to be planned and organized, hunting parties for the men, short Kingdom tours routed and set up.

            Truth being what it was, the Empress may have been Tortallan, but as any statesman knows, you can never not show complete welcomes, even with friends.  So as fall finally came to a close, the usual quietness that came with the white winters in Tortall was soon to become a winter wonderland.

A/N:  Oh My Goodness!  I did not even know it was going to be this long of a chapter…Is that OK?  I know it's kinda seemed like a lot of the story isn't very important.  I can understand that…why'd you think it.  But trust me TRUST ME….most everything in my chapters are important for later on.  Maybe not in this story (Uncontrollable) but by the end of the entire thing, everything will have its place ok! Good

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	19. Burr

Ok, so you all are wondering.  "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?"  good question.  The answer:  right here at my desk…thing is…I kind of need a computer in order to write, no?  That ugly little blaster worm virus…ya, the one that gives you a little window with a countdown on it so you know just how long you have until it shuts down on you?  Yeah, that one.  The one designed to give you heart failure the minute you see it.  That popped up on my computer and I nearly turned my hall deaf from my screech.  Anyway, so my computer shut down and I had to whisk it away to the computer help desk center at my school where they held it in quarantine for nearly a month and a half! (those evil little computer trolls)  Anyways, I got Artemis back (Artemis is the name of my computer) and I was ready to go and….what to my surprise…..but a hurricane is a commin'.  Now, first of all…I go to St. Mary's College.  If ANYONE knows where that is, they understand.  My room is literally 20 feet away from the St. Mary's River which is the first river of the Maryland Chesapeake bay.  Second, I'm a RA….which means I'm in charge of about 20 residents at my school.  So what am I forced to do…hmm..spend countless hours boarding up all their  windows, cause obviously GIRLS can't do such things, help them lift all their belongings up off the floor (we're on the basement level…with luck like mine…who needs guns) and make sure no idiots are having hurricane parties and running around naked in the middle of Hurricane Isabelle.  Sigh…so..all these trees fall down cars get wrecked and my room gets flooded…(luckily, Artemis was safely stowed away.)  but low and behold, no power for almost a week.  Do you KNOW how WEIRD that can get?  Anyway, I finally got power and I'm ready to go.

The Secret Magic: 2: Uncontrollable

            She couldn't breath.  She tried, desperately.  The frigid ice around her entire body was ripping away at her in painful strips.  She tried to breathe in, again.  All she got was more icy pain.  She could feel her lungs fighting the pressure.  Her left hand gripped onto something with unrestrained conviction, refusing to let go, so she reached up with her free right hand and tried to punch through the white blanket above her. Pure white, yet, so dark.  She couldn't remember ever being so scared.  If she couldn't breath, this would be it.  Her heart was pounding at her chest, trying to break through her ribs.  She scratched at the white sheet in sharp thrusts as the horror of what was happening slowed down time around her, dragging each second out endlessly.  If she could just…take…one…more…

            Jade's body jumped up from the bed, heaving for breath.  She'd been sleeping on her stomach, so her arms had automatically pushed her body up.  Her eyes were wild for a moment, looking around and up for the white blanket again.  When she finally got her bearings, she looked to the bottom of the bed where Kitten had been sleeping by her feet.

            The dragon hadn't even stirred.

            She fell back down on her stomach and buried her hands under her chest, chasing away the early morning chill and the remnants of the nightmare.  She reached down for her blanket and wrapped it more securely around herself.  Peeking out towards the window and groaning at the early morning, she muttered, "It's too early."  She tried to close her eyes and sleep longer, but images of white suffocating blankets refused to leave her mind.  She struggled out of bed, pulled her blanket from under Kitten wrapping it around her shoulders.  She shivered at the cold draft in her room and walked out into the living quarters, muttering about winter.

            She was starting to feel the familiar slumber inside herself, her magic settling down for a winter's nap.  But with the winter came the tale-tell signs of a long season full of restless nights.  She scooted over to her parent's room and pocked in her head.  She was slightly surprised to see both of them already up and gone.  She peaked in on Atune and discovered her tutor was stills sleeping, though not with as many blankets as Jade would have expected.  Atune was always commenting that the winters in Tortall were mere snow flurries compared to the blizzards in Scanra.

            She grabbed a book from her shelf, scooted back into room, plopped onto her bed and began to read, Kitten snuggling closer to her leg.

*****

They waited at the front gates with an assembly of greeters.  Further down, crowds of city folk had gathered in the street to welcome their Princess home.  "I'm surprised Jon and Thayet didn't throw tradition out the window and be out here to great Kalisin."  Alanna murmured into her thick mittens.  A bright red tunic that bore a golden Lioness across the front and back reached mid thigh over light tan breeches and near black leather boots contrasted her bright hair fittingly.  Her Gold chain mail armor glistened in the clear early winter morning air.  Sword and dagger properly placed and leather gloves hooked to her belt, which she would quickly trade for her warm mittens when their guest arrived, she stood as a beautiful beacon of Tortallan glory.  

            Gary of Naxen snorted into his uncovered hands.  In his own fief regalia of black and gold, he stood handsomely for a man entering his late forties.  "They would have, if there weren't an entire entourage of priest and ambassadors coming as well.  As it stands, their Majesties are going to have to meet them in the Great Throne Room like they would any other visiting royals, even if it is their own daughter."  Gary looked down to his left where the fiery red head was jumping in small rapid beats to keep warm.  "Alanna, honestly…you're worse than an old Mitherean priest; would you cut that out!"

            "It's COLD!" she scolded.  "What am I supposed to do?  Sit here and freeze? No, thank you!"  Gary rolled his eyes.  His attention caught to the side as Daine casually walked through the gates, pulling at the sleeve of her green cloth uniform coat.  She seemed to be having trouble keeping the dark brown leather gloves folded correctly underneath the coat.

            "Mithros, Daine.  Is it possible you've gotten even more beautiful from the last time I saw you in that thing?"  He smiled at the younger woman with charm.

            Daine looked up at him startled at first to hear her name than quickly turned into a brilliant wide smile.  "You always were a charmer, Gary."

            Alanna glared grumpily.  "Funny how even when I was your age, I never got compliments like that."

            Before she could say anything else, Raoul, in browns and blues of all colors, broke in, "That's because we were always afraid you'd run us through with your sword."  Laughs were shared, and even Alanna had a half grin across her face.

            "It is amazing how you pull that off, Daine," Alanna said, more light-hearted.  "You wouldn't think it seeing as you usually look best in blue, but it does."

Daine smiled shyly and shrugged.  "I've always felt rather overdone in this.  Like I'm calling attention to myself."

Numair came through the gates then, a few papers in hand, reading them hurriedly.  "Here now, Numair," called Raoul.  "What do you think about Daine's uniform?"

Numair looked up with a smile and looked towards Daine, a glint in his eyes.  Personally, I like what's underneath it better."  Daine's eyes nearly came out of her head as Numair smiled toothily and the others laughed loudly.  

            "They've arrived!" Called a Tortallan guard who galloped up the brick street with a smile.  "They entered the city walls half an hour ago.  They should be here within minutes."  Footmen scurried into positions, guards straightened and stood at attention, the Mitheran Priest stood in a line parallel to the Palace outer walls as the Knights and Nobles placed themselves in two lines leading up to the palace gates.  Numair and Daine stood among a handful of other Mages while Alanna, Raoul and Gary stood across from them.

            Daine moistened her lips in nervousness, taking deep breaths to relax.  "Calm down," murmured Numair.  "It's only Kalisin."

            Daine looked at him with disbelieving eyes.  "We haven't seen her in eight years, Numair, people change."

            Numair grinned.  "From what I've heard, not that much."

            "Wha?…Where did you hear that? What have you heard? Why…" She was interrupted by the sound of the crowds cheering and waving suddenly.   Confetti was thrown into the air and people jumped madly in happiness.  Daine was caught suddenly by surprise as trumpets from the catwalks sounded in welcome.  They played a regal song as a number of Carthiki guards on horseback came into view, quickly followed by a number of carriages, one larger than the others.

            The Carthiki guards wore their bright gold and blacks with pride as they stopped their pure black steeds so that the main carriage was positioned at the line of welcomers.  The footman riding the back of the carriage quickly dismounted his position in the back coach seat and opened the beautifully crafted wooden door of the carriage.

A familiar pale hand reached out wrapped in crimson red velvet.  The Footman held his hand out and Kalisin emerged from the carriage with bright blue eyes.

            Thayet's beauty on arriving in Tortall, in truth, even in Serain, had been legendary.  Her pale perfect skin and physic mixed with Jonathans deep blue eyes had produced a creature so divinely beautiful, even the Gods had to smile upon her.  Kalisin, who had always been considered a beautiful young girl, had grown out of her late teen awkwardness and emerged into her womanhood at fool blossom.  Her black coal hair was pinned up and had intricate red beads placed strategically, a black sheer veil seemed to have been pulled over her face to hang prettily from her neck.  Her pale perfect skin contrasted the crimson of her lips as well as the crimson of her dress, which looked light enough for summer, yet warm enough for summer.  She was tall, at least 5'8'', and had a very slender waist to accentuate her 'attributes' even more.  At 25, Empress Kalisin of Conte could drive men to their knees with desire and women to madness with envy.

            Kalisin squinted her beautiful eyes as the early morning sun shone brightly down.  She took the step down to the ground and breathed in the air.  Looking up, she smiled at the many faces that had been a comforting memory for so many years.  Her eyes lit up in delight when her eyes met a particular pair of crystal blue eyes.

            "Roald!" She said in happiness.  Daine turned her head slightly to see that, yes, in fact, Prince Roald stood at the gates, hands behind his back, feet set apart and a wide smile upon his face.  He took a few jogging steps to meet up to Kalisin, who had sprinted towards him and crushed her in a warm embrace.  Kalisin wrapped her arms around his neck, tears of joy in her eyes.

            A round of applause pulled brother and sister apart momentarily.  Kalisin pulled away slightly but held on to his hands.  "Roald, you rotten thing.  Why have you not come to visit me in so long?  Look at me.  Having to travel all the way up to Tortall just to threaten you into coming more often."

            "Now, now, dear sister.  What would her Majesty say at hearing such things?"  They laughed and hugged once again before an old Carthiki priest cleared his throat.  Kalisin rolled her eyes dramatically at Roald with a smile before pulling back again.  "My dear brother," she said royally.  I wish to present to you, future King of Carthak; my son, your nephew, heir to the throne of Carthak, his royal highness, Prince Otadon."

            A boy of eight emerged from the carriage wearing a woven gold tunic and black satin sash with gold threads designing the Carthiki royal seal.  He wore light tan breaches and brand new black leather boots richly designed in gold threads.  His face, was striking to say the least.  He had his fathers black Carthiki hair.  His skin was his mothers, pale ivory.  It contrasted his black eyes sharply.  Those Carthiki eyes were lined in black, making them stand out even more.  He was tall for his age, but already showing sighs of a strong youth.

            Prince Roald stepped up to the young boy and bowed.  "Welcome, cousin.  My home is your home." In a quieter voice Roald said, "Though if you like, I can show you where I dunked your mother in the mud, she screeched for weeks after that."

            A smile broke across the small lips and the young boy nodded in anticipation.

            "If I may…" interrupted Kalisin with a glare at her brother.

            Roald straightened and cleared his throat.  "Oh yes, of course."

            Kalisin eyed him suspiciously before continuing.  "I would also like to present to you, brother, my youngest, Duchess Miliani of Carinthia, High Royal Princess of Carthak.

            A young girl of about 5 was helped out of a the coach by an elderly lady wrapped in the Royal servants clothing.  The first thing that ran through Daine's mind as she rested eyes upon the small child was how clearly the line of beauty would continue throughout the line of royal females.  The little princess was almost an exact copy of Kalasin.  Thinking back to the first time Daine had met the young princess, she recalled Kalasin was only 8 then, Jade's age.  With a sigh and a smile, Daine couldn't help but see another future beauty if the young girl.

Kalasin walked and greeted many of the palace officials that waited patiently in a line for her.  Some, of course, she greeted more warmly than others.  When she embraced Alanna and Gary warmly, one of the Carthekian priests cleared his throat in reproach.  Kalasin straightened slowly.  A momentary dark glare churned into a patient sigh as both Alanna and Gary patted her hands reassuringly and she moved on.

            Daine's own personal greeting with the Empress was brief but promising.  "You Majesty," Daine greeted one hand behind her back, the other in front of her as she bowed in uniform.

            Kalasin picked up Daine's hand and squeezed it tightly.  Leaning in ever so slightly, she whispered.  "We'll talk more later, you and I"; and there was a shake in Kalasin's voice that caught Daine's attention.

            Daine forced a grin.  "Of course, you Majesty."  A few more seconds of eye contact and Kalasin moved on down the line of three Wild Mages currently in residence at the palace.  Daine sighed and braced herself for meeting the long line of Cartheki nobles and priests that had arrived with Kalasin.

A/N:  Coolness…read and review

Catch ya later.  Bye now


	20. Confided

Ok.  I've learned my lesson.  No more promises. Cause every time I do, something happens that makes it so I can't keep it.  From now on…I'll update when I get it done.

ALSO:  I NEED SOMEONE TO EDIT FOR ME.  I SUCK AT IT AND HAVE NO TIME FOR IT.  ANY VOLUNTEERS CAN LEAVE THEIR EMAIL ON THE REVIEW AND I'LL GET BACK TO THEM.  THANKS A LOT.

Uncontrollable

By: Karigan Marie

Chapter: Confided

*****

            It had been nearly 3 days since the arrival of the Empress of Carthak and her two young children.  Daine could tell that the winter would be an active one.  Banquets and parties had been on-going, and to her dismay, royal hunting parties that many of the ambassador's from Carthak attended had yielded many wild deer, and for the first time in many years, Daine noticed that King Jonathan looked much more relaxed and much less weighed down.  It seemed as though the winter would be a nice one, where two kingdoms, once separated by hatred and war, had come together and united.

            One thing Daine had not liked about all the parties and gatherings was the constant need for her to be in uniform.  She reserved her nicest for only special occasions where royals would be in attendance, but there had already been two of those 'events' and Daine was beginning to think she would spend the entire winter in uniform.

            Jade had been, not surprisingly, hard to locate on several occasions when Daine wanted to introduce her to some of the Cartheki Wild Mages.  So Daine had Jade accompany her today to various gatherings, a task Jade had adamantly protested.

After nearly 5 hours of wandering around with her mother to endless parties and meetings, Jade was beginning to get grumpy.  They walked down towards the courts, Jade's arms crossed and a small frown marring her little tanned face.  "Come on, now, Jade.  This isn't as horrible as you're making it out to be.  If you tried, I think you might actually enjoy yourself.  Some of these Mages are very interested in meeting you.  They may have some ideas about your magic.  Don't you want to hear what they have to say?"

"Not really," Jade mumbled.

"Why not?"  Daine ran a hand through the girl's wild curls as they continued around a corner.

"I don't like people starring at me, Mama."

"They don't starring…"

"Yes they do!  They stare at me.  If they thought they could, they'd probably poke at me, too," she grumped.

"Don't be so dramatic, Jade.  Curiosity runs rampant among Mages, you know that.  Just look at your father."

"Papa doesn't stare at me like they do.  They stare at me like I have two heads!"

Daine sighed and stooped down to Jade's eye level.  "Jade, I know it's a bit strange.  But they aren't trying to be cruel or mean or rude.  They just want to meet you.  They want to know more about you.  You're very special.  Inside of you is something very powerful and very different; something very beautiful.  They just want to know what it is.  Maybe you'll learn something from them…"

They looked up as a figure stepped out of a doorway.  Jade looked up and gasped as she saw ravel hair pinned up in extravagant curls and braids.  Red lips against Ivory skin and crystal blue eyes looked down at her with a smile.  The sky blue dress that barely covered the woman's shoulders was heavily embroidered with silver threads.  And at the side of the extraordinarily pretty woman was a small girl, younger than herself.  Daine stood up and bowed.  "You're Majesty, You're Highness."

After a moment, Jade's eyes widened in realization and she curtsied to the woman and girl.

Kalasin smiled brighter.  "This must be your Jade."

Daine smiled.  "Yes, Majesty.  May I present to you my daughter, Jade Salmalin."

Kalasin's eyes jerked from the little jade eyed girl up to Daine.  "Daine cut that out.  You don't have to be so unbearably formal with me, you know that!"

Daine grinned.  "Jade, this is the Empress of Carthak." She looked down at her daughter with a smile.  "Kalasin"

Jade gave a shy smile, "Pleased to meet you, Majesty."  Then she moved her eyes to the young girl gripping her mother's hand tightly.  She had raven hair and blue eyes like her mother, but her skin was that of Carthak, tanned to a brown hew.

Kalasin shook her own daughter out of her silent observance and said, "Miliani, this is a deer friend of mine, Daine.  And this…" she gestured to Jade, "is her daughter, Jade."  The little princess folded herself shyly into the folds of her mother's empire waist skirt.  Kalasin laughed and bent down slightly.  "Precious, Jade's father is from Carthak, just like you."  The young princess looked up in surprise at her mother.  "But…she's never been to Carthak."  Miliani's eyes jumped to Jade at those words.  "Perhaps she would like to hear about all the wonders of our Kingdom.  Would you like that Jade?"  At that, the Empress' eyes moved to Jade.

"Carthak?"  Jade's eyes grew in wonder.  "Oh, yes.  I'd love to hear about Carthak."

Miliani pulled away from her mother and stepped forward, grabbed onto Jade's hand and lead her down the hallway towards the gardens, two smiling mother's behind.

They walked through the halls in silence for a moment, listening to Miliani ramble on endlessly about the many curious creatures in Carthak.  Daine observed Kalasin from the side of her eyes, noting her old friend's nervousness.  Finally, Kalasin broke.  In a whisper almost too soft for Daine to understand, she said, "I suppose you're wondering why I wanted to talk to you in private."

Daine looked over with worried eyes.  "Kalasin, you know you can confide in me."

"I know." She looked down at her hands as they ran over the silver thread in her dress in nervousness.  "I just…I wanted someone I've known for a long time to talk to.  Someone…I trust."

"What's wrong, Kali?" Daine was beginning to get scared.  They stepped into the gardens and stood near the entrance as the two girls sat on a bench to chatter.

"It's just…" Kali took a breath and kept walking forward looking as if she has been waiting for this for months.  Daine stood, waiting for her to confide.  "Four months ago, there was an attempt on Kaddar's life."

The color drained from Daine's face.  "What?"

"A guard, through the glass."

Daine swallowed down a lump.  "Poison."

"He was coerced apparently; a minor fact that spared his life from the gallows; though he'll spend the rest of it in the dungeons."

Daine felt a chill run down her spine.  Her voice was breathless as she wondered, "Why?"

"He was part of the rebel army."

"Well, I'm glad he was discovered."  
            "Daine, I…I should have known.  I've been worried for almost two years about the situation.  Kaddar, he…he thinks the guard wasn't alone."

Daine's eyes scooted along the ground in confusion.  "Not alone.  There's more? You've told your father, right?"

"No!" It was whispered forcefully.  Daine, my father would have a kitten if I told him.  Though he isn't thick headed, I'm sure he suspects something is wrong."  She looked towards the two girls playing a hand game.  "No King…or Emperor… would send his Queen, the heir and his second child out of the country at the same time without good reason;" she faced Daine pointedly, "and a diplomatic mission is not one of those reasons; especially with a friendly sister kingdom."

"So, you think what…that someone is out to get you?  The rebel army?"

"Yes and no." Kalasin sighed.  "I think, and Kaddar agrees, it's more a matter of who we are as apposed to a personal vendetta."

"Who you are?"

"We're the monarchy, Daine.  That's what the rebels want.  They want to be in charge.  And that cursed leader of theirs…Onam…he wants to be their Warlord."

Daine blinked in utter disbelief.  "Revolution."

Kalasin let out the smallest of laughs.  "At worst.  At best, civil war."

Daine swallowed with unease.  "Gods' forbid."

"Kaddar wanted me and the children out of Carthak for a few months, until he can weed out the problems within the guard, at least."

"But, you came with guards, Kalasin.  What about them?"

"They're his most trusted; though that doesn't give complete comfort.  The guard that tried to poison him was one of the Emperor's legionnaires."

"How far does the corruption go?"

Kalasin forced tears from her eyes with a deep breath.  "I don't know."

*****

"Jade, move it!"

"I'm coming, Atune!"  Jade struggled with the slippers to the gown her father had bought for her.  "I can't…Atune!  I can't get these retched slippers on!"  She tipped forward and almost landed on her face.

Atune opened the door and smiled at her.  "You need to lace them up from the back, silly, not the front."  She knelt down in her own flowing dress with poise.  Jade scrunched her nose in envy.

"Well, you didn't tell me that."

Atune smiled.  "Your parents are waiting for you down in the banquet hall, Jade.  You really have taken too much time in dressing.  One would think you a lady."

That got a snort, and Atune looked up at her from her stooped position in distaste.  "I took so long because I couldn't get my arms into the dress, you could have told me that it folded over, too."

This time Atune outright laughed.  "I enjoyed your frustrated grunting from the other side of the door way too much, thank you."

Another scrunch of the nose was the only response Jade would dignify.  "Why do I have to go anyways, there's lots of girls for the princess to play with.  Noble girls!"

"Because, over the last few weeks, the princess has taken a liking to you, Jade.  She's not quite so frightened by you.  Possibly because you are half Cartheki yourself."

"Well, if we're going to play, why do I have to get all dressed up?"

"Because you are going to a banquet.  And you won't be playing, Jade.  You will be the princess' playmate for the evening."  
            "But I'm not even a noble, Atune!"  The whine was halfway stalled by Atune's warning glare.

"It doesn't matter, Jade.  Someone needs to keep the young princess entertained while her mother and the other ambassadors do their diplomatic duties."

"So why doesn't she stay with her nanny, like I do with you?" Atune glared up at the girl with hard eyes.  "I mean…tutor…tutor…her tutor."  A small smile and a quick laugh before Jade pulled her foot away turned towards the mirror.  "It had to be pink."

Atune stood gracefully and took Jade's hand.  "Pink is a very becoming color, Jade."

She trudged along, dragging her feet.  "Today would be a good time for me to tell Papa I hate pink."

Atune sighed.  "It would look better if you stopped frowning so much.  You ruin the dress that way."

"Humph."

*****

"There are no trees?"

"Well…yes."  The young princess conceded.  "But only a little.  There's no big trees like here."

"Oh."  Jade picked up her spoon and scooped up a good amount of soup from her bowl.  All the time trying not to spill on her dress.  The result was a bit awkward.  She looked up at the sudden shrieking laughter of the princess.  "What's so funny?"

The little girl pointed.  "You eat like a pig!"  Jade frowned in annoyance.

"I just don't want to ruin my dress, is all."  She placed the spoon back down, slumped in her chair and crossed her arms in a pout.  Jade looked around herself and wondered at her bad luck.  Next to her was the princess Miliani, who sat next to her own mother, the Empress.  Across from them was the King and Queen of Tortall.  And all around them were priest and ambassadors and knights and ladies and all sorts of other people that made it impossible for Jade to misbehave.  This royally sucked.

She peaked over her should and saw various guards standing around the tables. Some were the King's own guards dressed in royal blues.  She recognized most their faces.  She looked at the handful of Cartheki guards with curiosity.  One was standing almost directly behind the Empress.  He was older.  Older than Papa she guessed with dark black wiry hair and black eyes. He was possibly the darkest man Jade had ever seen.  His skin was almost coal black making the white of his eyes seem to glow.  His beard was as wiry as his hair and he looked so incredibly serious, Jade was afraid to blink for a moment.  Behind the princess was a younger guard.  He was paler than his companion, but his mouth almost turned into a sneering grin every so often and Jade wondered if he found the conversations at the table as boring as her.  There were a few others, a dark skinned man with scars down his nose caught her eye.  She noticed another guard enter the room quietly, making his way over to the oldest of the guards, the darkest.  The guard who entered walked with confidence and purpose, and she couldn't help but notice he didn't look like the others.  He was Cartheki, of course.  His black eyes and tanned skin told so.  But he was much lighter than the others.  He was possibly as light as Papa.  And he was younger than the others.  Maybe 16 or 17.  His hair wasn't wiry, but soft and almost a shaggy brown, lighter than her own hair.  He whispered into the older guard's ear.  The dark man nodded and whispered something back.  Soon the youthful guard was back on his way out.  Jade looked towards the windows behind the guards, noticing the snow coming down in a thick layers.

*****

"I think I like it better when Atune explains it to me."  Jade huffed.

"Well…" Daine said with a raised eyebrow.  "It's her day off, so you're stuck with me.  Now, you need to get this long division down."

Numair entered the suite with a book open to a page about mixed gifts.  He looked up and he felt his breath catch and his heart speed up, his vision becoming blurry yet so clear.

There she was again.  This time, she was sitting with an older woman.  Daine.  Slightly older but still just as beautiful Daine.  They were working on Jade's studies.  Daine was explaining a math problem to the young girl.  Jade looked up to see him and smiled beautifully at him.  Such a familiar smile; euphoric in the dim candlelight of the evening.  Vanilla wafted into his senses.  Noticing Jade's attention waver, Jade casually put her hand on her daughter's head and gently turned her face back down to the work.  Jade sighed and continued on.  Daine looked up at him with slight annoyance and then gave way to one of her beautiful smiles.  He realized then…and he wasn't sure why, that Jade was the only thing in his life more important to him than Daine.  That seemed important somehow.

He blinked out of his revelry and swallowed as his heart began to slow.  "Numair."  He looked up.  Daine was looking at him.  "You all right?"  He nodded, cleared his throat and resolved to show her how 'all right' he was that night.

*****

A loud boom rang through the halls and echoed throughout the west side of the palace.  Daine was startled awake, her head jumping up from Numair's shoulder.  Numair himself bolted into a sitting position, his strong chest and shoulders shook with surprise.  The blankets fell away down to his waist as he lifted himself to the edge of the bed.  Daine sat up, the sheets falling from her own bare form.  She shivered from the draft on her body, the blankets and Numair's warm body along with their heated activities from earlier had been enough to keep her warm.  Now she felt the cold clearly.  She looked up at him in startled gaze.

When another boom echoed through the walls, Daine bolted up, reached for her blue cloth robe, quickly wrapped it around her body and tide the belt.  Numair quickly pulled a pair of breeches up his legs as he lopped over to their window.  He gapped in surprised horror at what he saw down in the court yards.  Men were storming the castle.  Not nearly enough he couldn't help but think, but enough to cause considerable damage.  Numair couldn't help but wonder what in the God's name was happening, but he didn't stop to ask.  "There are men storming the castle!"

"What?" Daine cried as she reached him to look over his shoulder.  "Oh Gods!" she whispered.  They both jerked around when they heard a loud crash rip through the halls.  Her hand flew to her mouth.  "Jade!"  Daine ran to their door, ripping it open and running into their common room.  She turned to Jade's door to see Atune come tearing out of her own room in a pink satin robe.  Atune's long blonde hair swung around her shoulders, her blue wide set eyes open so wide in fright they seemed to take over her face.  Another loud crash followed by a shrieked, "MAMA!"

*****

Next Chapter:  ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE………..and guess what……you will all HHHHAAAATTTTEEEE me!

REVIEW PLEASE


	21. Winter Nights

OK NEXT CHAPTER

ALSO: I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY OFFERS TO HELP ME EDIT.  IF YOU WANT TOO, LET ME KNOWWWWWW!

ENJOY

Uncontrollable

By: Karigan Marie

Chapter: Winter Nights

Jade woke with a start and sat at the head of her bed.  She'd had that dream again, with the white blanket snow she couldn't fight.  But she hadn't woken up like usual.  A loud crash had startled the blanket in her dreams to shatter like glass.  When she woke in surprise at the sudden change in her nightly dream, another loud crash had scared her into scooting up against the headboard.  She shoved the wild curls out of her pale face and shrunk back.  Another loud crash scared her witless and she screamed out to her mother.  Seconds later, Daine came barreling through the door to her side, the blue cloth robe catching the wind and showing an expanse of leg.   "Mama!"

Daine ran to the side of Jade's bed.  She bent down quickly and, placing her hands under Jade's arms, heaved Jade up into her arms.  Jade wrapped her legs around her mother's waist and crushed her arms around Daine's neck, burrowing her face in the brown curls of comfort.  "Mama…" she cried out.

Daine locked one arm around Jade's back, her other around her shoulders, using he hand to press her daughter's head down into her shoulder.  "We have to go, sweetling."  Daine turned and trotted back through the door as Atune reached for a thick wool blanket.  All three adults made their way through the common room to the main door in a rush.  "Numair! What do we do?"

"We have to get to the war room, that's where the others will meet up."  He pushed open the door, peering out in caution before reaching back to her.  "Let's go."  Daine padded barefoot down the corridors slightly behind Numair, Atune following closely, a hand clenching the thin robe around her shut.

When the reached the stairwells, the cold draft made them all shiver dramatically.  Jade whimpered slightly, and Daine rubbed her hands up and down her small shaking back.  "I'm cold, mama."

Atune quickly shook out the wool blanket and swung it around Jade's shoulders, tucking it around the small girl.  Daine gave a grateful smile and the two women squeezed hands in reassurance.

They passed a number of servants running to and fro through the halls.  Descending the stairs quickly, they stopped and jumped in surprise as another crash ripped through the halls.  Jade squeezed her mother for all she was worth in fright hanging on the small hushed words comfort.

They turned a dark corner to meet up with an extremely red with rage Alanna with sword in hand and nightgown on and a teeth gritting George, wearing his own pair of breeches a hand full of daggers and not much else.  "This is MAD!" yelled Alanna.

"Shh, Alanna! Keep it down!" Numair chastised.

Alanna growled in anger.  "They are already attacking the castle, NUMAIR.  What difference is it going to make?"

"We can at least try and keep them from knowing where we are!"

"Not now!" George growled.  "Let's get down to the war room quick."  He pushed Numair and Alanna into the lead then nudged along Daine with Jade and Atune before following closely behind.

They pushed through and finally reached the war rooms to meet King Jonathan, Queen Thayet, Prince Roald, his wife, clutching her son, Gary and his family, Roald, Buri, and 6 royal guards and 8 or 9 servants.  All, save the guards, were wearing their night clothing and looked rumpled and distressed.

"I was getting worried." Jonathan said with a relieved voice.  "Whatever this is, it will be easier to deal with if my Champion and War Mage are here."

Numair pulled on an offered shirt from Roald and snorted.  "There's not that many I don't think.  From my window, I could see twenty or thirty.  They should be easy to pick off by the guards."  
            "But they're not." Roald spoke up.  "Father, I saw at least 30 storming the back gates."  Jon's blue eyes snapped with anger.  He looked up at the people in the room and nodded.  "This is unacceptable!" he slammed his fists down on the table.  "Why were they allowed in the damn city, Roaul?"

"They wouldn't be, Jon."  Roaul pushed.  "I can't explain it right now."

"Well, you need to explain it right now, Roaul!"  Alanna gritted.

"Enough!" Jon growled, a slamming from far away introluding.  "It's not what needs to be discussed right now.  Roaul, take Souci and my grandson to the back chambers where they will be safe."  Jon looked around quickly.  "Daine, I need you to fight."  Daine swallowed and clutched at Jade in her arms.  "Have Atune take Jade with them."  He seemed to soften his gaze at her in understanding before quickly looking at the others and giving out orders.  "The servants that can't fight can go with them.  And I want my daughter, Onam and Miliani in the passages.  Find them!"

Less than a minute later they were scrambling for swords and bows from the cabinets.  Daine reluctantly pried Jade from around her neck and passed her over to Atune looked pale but calm.  Jade reached out to Daine in complaint.  "Mama, no."

Daine reached forward and cupped Jade's face, kissing her cheek softly.  "Don't worry, sweetling."  Daine squeezed Atune's hand with force and tried to speak through her dry throat.  "Please, take care of her.

"Of course," The 24 year old lady from Scanra promised.  Roaul came and pacing an arm around Atune's shoulder to lead her towards the now open stone wall behind a tapestries.  Numair hopped over to her quickly and crushed Jade's upper body in a massive hug as Atune continued to hold her.  He pulled away to see Jade shaking furiously.

"You'll be all right, sweet.  Don't be afraid."  He turned to Daine then and noticed her taking a reassuring breath.  He looked around to the preparing fighters.  "Let's get this over with."

*****

            They sat in small room, only 9'x 9'.  Atune sat on a chair, Jade straddling her lap, head resting against her chest, half awake.  There were a handful of servant women and children sitting on the floor, the Princess, future Queen of Tortall, Souci sat with her young son sleeping on her lap, legs dangling over the arm chair.  Two guards were placed at the door to the room as well as Roaul.

            Jade snuggled into Atune and let out a shaky breath, Atune rubbed her back and ran a hand through her hair over and over.  Half an hour since they had crammed into the room with noises being heard from somewhere in the castle.

When a banging on the door rung out, both guards positioned themselves for attack.  The Princess and son were rushed to the corner of the room and Atune sat up in attention pulling Jade closer.  The guard pulled open the door when a seal was passed under the door.  Three Carthak guards surrounded a rumpled Empress.  In her right arm, the Princess Miliani hung desperately.  The prince Onam grasped his mother's other hand, his face angry and dark.

Atune gently shook.  "Look, Jade."  Jade lifted her head and peaked at the door, smiling at the new arrivals.

Princess Souci bolted forward and grasped Kalasin in a hug, her own son still in arms.  "We were worried."

Kalasin smiled tightly.  "Some of the fighting was taking place in the Ambassadors halls.  I'm not sure what's going on.  We ran into Gary on our way to the war room and he directed us here.  How are you holding up?"

"Quiet mostly." Souci replied.  "This is the safest room in the palace."

"I know." Kalasin looked around with red eyes, trying to keep the tears from coming.

Souci quickly placed her son down and instructed Kalasin to do the same with her daughter.  "Here now, Kali."  Souci held Kalasin in her arms in comfort for a moment.  "Everything will be fine.  When we find out who's doing this, your father will have a few choice actions in punishment."  Souci was very calm with her statement.

Kalasin let out a small cry.  "It's the rebels.  I saw them in the hall.  They wore the silver crest.  They've come for us here.  I can't believe they made it into the palace."

Souci stroked the Empress' head in comfort.  "You're safe here."  Kalasin shook her head in denial.  The three young royal cousins sat together and chatted away while their mothers spoke.

Jade looked up at her tutor.  "Atune, what about Amena? She lives on the outer wall huts.  Is she going to get hurt?"

Atune held her breath and tried to think.  "I'm not sure, Jade.  I hope not."

Jade laid her head down against Atune's chest again and thought.  Images of mean men hurting Amena and her family plagued her mind.  What about all the people she knew at the palace? Eleni would be fighting.  Gregory, she didn't know where her friend would be.  Even Molina…she didn't want anything bad happening to her either.

She looked at the Cartheki guards that had come in with the Empress.  She recognized two of them.  One was the older darkest guard she had seen at dinner a week ago.  The other was the lighter man that had sneered at the conversations at the table.  Both were attentive and ready for a fight.  The third she hadn't seen.  The darkest man with the wiry beard looked over at her, and, noticing her attention, winked and smiled just the tiniest bit.  Jade had to smile at him.  When the other guard she recognized finally noticed her, he made a double take.  He starred hard at her for almost ten seconds.  Jade starred wide eyed at him; this really wasn't all that unusual, lots of people starred at her when they noticed her eyes.  The guard, however, looked as if he almost recognized her.

The door exploded in flames, startling every one in the room.  Some women and children shrieked in fright.  The guards positioned themselves at the door.  Atune stood in apprehension with Jade clutched in her arms.  She whispered some soft words with a harshness Jade never heard from her and the wood turned to water, the flames dying out quickly.

Before they could find out what happened, men swarmed into the room with swords.  Atune slammed back into the wall in fright, Jade screaming as one of the men ran through one of the Tortallan guards in surprise.  He ripped his sword out of the man's gut and turned away, the Tortallan guard falling dead to the ground.  In a matter of seconds, all out fighting took place.  Jade gripped at Atune's body for dear life as servants desperately tried to escape.  Otadon fell back against a chair when he leaped back to avoid a falling body.  He was yanked up by the back of his shirt by the darkest Cartheki guard.  He was placed behind the large man's body as a new attack came down.  The dark man swung his curved Cartheki sward around so quickly Jade didn't notice the rebel's head being sliced off until it rolled across the floor in front of Kalasin who covered her mouth in disgust.  Atune forced Jade's head down to the crook of her neck with a swift order to not look.

Roaul grabbed Souci and her son and shoved them out the door down the corridor, disappearing quickly.  "Why are they leaving?" shrieked a servant who watched in horror as another guard went down.

Atune answered.  "They're separating the Empress and the Princess.  They have a better chance at surviving if they aren't in the same place.  The man that stood in front of Otadon gripped the heir's hand and pushed the Empress to the door in a momentary gap.  "Empress, we have to go!"  Kalasin swung Miliani into her arms and ran to the doorway, her hand firmly on the trigger of a crossbow she had been given earlier.  She looked around at the fighting and focused her eyes on Atune.

"You! Come on, bring Jade!"  Atune, with no argument, ran down the walls edge to the door and followed them out.

*****

They stopped at the entrance to the courtyards for a breath.  The black guard looking ahead and assessing the danger.  Otadon's anger was growing, his face was near bright red and his eyes snapped with anger.  Miliani shrieked in fright in her mother's grip.  Both Kalasin and Atune were breathing heavily from carrying the girls.  Atune shivered as the satin pink robe she wore did nothing against the cold winter air.  Her feet were red and stinging in pain from the freezing stone floors.  Kalasin was little better, she had bed slippers on, but she still shivered in cold.  Jade gripped onto Atune's neck in silent fear.

The guard turned to them and spoke as he wrapped a ripped piece of cloth around his hand which was spurting brick red blood, a stark contrast to his black skin.  "We have to get across the courts.  There's some fighting, but I don't think they'll notice us.  If we can get into the city, we can hide until this ends.  Jade noticed the distinct Cartheki accent the man had.  "As fast as we can, understand?  I don't want to risk you getting hit by an arrow, Empress?"  He sheethed his sword and turned to the prince.  He bent down and heaved the young boy up to the side of his body.

"I can run by myself!" cried Otadon.

Kalasin was quick to answer.  "Not as fast as he can, love.  Just let him carry you."  Otadon complied grudgingly, gripping his arms around the man's neck.

The man looked at Atune pointedly.  "If you fall behind, we can't stop for you."

Atune felt the heat of anger grow within her.  She understood the logic.  He couldn't afford to worry about an exiled lady from Scanra and a Mage's daughter, his main concern was the Empress, the heir and the second in line to the throne.  But she burned a glare into him.  "I won't fall behind."  He nodded in understanding.

"Here we go."  He stepped out of the door and Jade had never seen anyone run so quickly.  Kalasin was quick behind him and Jade hung on as Atune ran barefoot across the frozen ground and snow.  Jade gripped Atune's waist and neck tightly so that Atune wouldn't have to worry about holding on to her as much.  Even through this, Atune gripped Jade's body so hard, Jade had trouble breathing.  She was being jostled from Atune's running, but she could still see the different buildings around the courtyard through the dark night sky.  Some were in flames, making everything glow menacingly.  Men in silver tunics threw more and more torches into the buildings.  They reached the gates only to see silver guards guarding them with crossbows.  The black guard cursed vividly and turned quickly to the side gardens.  When they reached a small side garden, Kalasin was near hysterical.  "We have to go out one of the side doors!"  She took off quickly, the Guard and Atune following closely.

They reached a far wooden door and Kalasin dropped the crossbow and tried to open it.  "It's locked!"  The guard placed Otadon down and reached for his sword.  He began swinging away at the lock, sparks flying.  He lifted his arm again for another blow when an arrow appeared at the side of his neck and he fell to the ground.  Atune screeched and Kalasin grabbed Otadon.  She pulled her two children against the wall and looked around wildly.  Jade was shaking quietly in Atune's arms.  From the shadows of the night, a Cartheki guard appeared.  Jade recognized him.  The man with the sneer.  He held up a crossbow and pointed the arrow at Otadon's head.

"NO!" Kalasin screeched with fear.  She dropped Miliani to the ground pulling her along as she sprung in front of Otadon, pulling both behind her.  Atune quietly placed Jade down, gripping her hand.

  "I have no problem killing you first, Empress."  His eyes turned to Jade, half hidden behind Atune's robe.  He pointed at her and Jade felt her heart stop.  "I've told Onam about _you, _green eyes_._ Atune's body stiffened.  He lifted his hand up to Kalasin's face and Atune nearly jumped forward to attack him before a large cat like body slammed into him. Atune looked towards Kalasin to see her let out a cry of relief.  Looking around, Atune was ecstatic to see the leopard like cat shape shift into Daine.  She trotted towards them, bare of any clothing minus a claw around her neck.

"Mama!"  Jade sprung into her mother's arms.  Daine hugged her back and looked around.  Atune, who still had hold of the wool blanket, placed it over Daine's bare form.

"The door won't open, Daine!"  Kalasin pulled at the door again.  Before Daine could get over to the door she clutched over in pain, her stomach cramping painfully.

"MAMA!"  Jade reached for her mother just as Daine vomited on the ground.

"Daine.  What's wrong?"  Atune reached her and helped her lean against the wall.

"I'm not sure.  Every time I shape shift I get sick.  But it passes."  She reached  for the door and tried to yank it open.

"It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? Fox glove."  They jumped at the voice and turned to see another of the Cartheki guards.  Daine shoved Jade behind her, Atune picking up Miliani and Kalasin gripping Otadon's hand protectively.

The guard had lines of scars down his nose and he held a sword in his bloody hand.  "Kein!"  Kalasin swore and couldn't help but cry helplessly.  Was every one of her guards going to betray her?

"Foxglove." He repeated.  "It didn't work so well the first time, I don't expect it to work very well this time.  But at least it slows you down."  He was looking pointedly at Daine who had frozen, eyes wide.

"You…" Daine's grip on Jade's arm turned downright painful.  Atune grabbed the crossbow from the ground where Kalasin had dropped it and lifted it to the man.  She pulled the trigger and aimed as best she could.  The arrow slammed into his right shoulder, throwing him back to the ground.

"Run!" Atune yelled at Kalasin.  "I have her."  Atune took off after Kalasin, Miliani in her arms, pulling jade by the hand.

"No!"  Jade pulled away and ran to her mother, who was starring at the man on the ground.  "Mama!"

Daine's head swung around and she looked at her frightened daughter.  She ran to her, swung her up in her arms as she continued to run down the block wall.  She didn't get too far.  Kein picked up his own crossbow from his side and pulled the trigger.

Jade screeched as she felt her mother heave forward to the ground.  They tumbled forward, Jade landing on her back, her mother falling halfway on top of her.  "MAMA!" she screeched for all she was worth.  She looked to her mother's back and saw an arrow piercing the center of her back, blood oozing out.  "MAMAAA!"

Atune turned at Jade's screech, her knees almost gave out as she saw Daine's fallen form.  When she turned back to Kalasin to tell her to stop, she didn't see her, frantic, she looked around and didn't see either the Empress or Otadon.  Giving up, she ran back to Daine and Jade, Miliani crying hard in her arms.  She placed the princess down and reached for Daine.  "DAINE!"  She turned the woman over and noticed Daine barely conscious.  "DAINE!"

Jade felt her stomach clench and unclench painfully.  And to her horror, felt what she hadn't felt in almost two months of winter…her magic.  It started boiling over in her stomach, growing painfully.  "Mama!" she cried out.

Daine opened her eyes with effort and coughed up blood.  Atune let out a cry of despair; the arrow had hit her lung.  "Just…just hold still, Daine.  She grabbed at the blanket and pressed it hard into the wound on her back.

Daine's eyes focused momentarily on Jade.  She reached up with a shaky hand and buried it in Jade's curls.  Atune caught the distant sound of howling wolves.  "Mama?"

Daine smiled softy.  She reached with her other hand to the claw around her neck and pressed it into Jade's hand.  Through a blood clogged throat, she coughed up six words.  "I… love you..  …Don't be afraid."

Jade shook her head consistently at her mother.  "Mama, get up.  Get up now."

Atune stared as the light seemed to fade from Daine's eyes.  Miliani stood silently beside her.  And then she was gone, and Atune felt Miliani shift uncomfortably.

Jade held on to Daine's hand, shaking it softly.  "Mama…" she whispered.  "Mama…you have to get up now.  We have to find Papa.  Mama, stop….please…stop.  You're scaring me."  Her voice cracked and her throat strung so bad.  "Mama…GET UP!" she shrieked.  "GET UP, MAMA!"

Atune scooted over and wrapped her arms around Jade.  "We have to go, Jade."  She didn't think she could deal with this right now.

"NO!" Jade shrieked.  Her stomach was burning so hot, she thought she would explode.  She pushed Atune away violently.  "NO!  Mama, GET UP!!!"

"Jade…" Atune reached again and grabbed her more forcefully.  "We have to go."  Jade shrieked louder.  "Mama, this isn't funny anymore! GET UUUUP!"

Amena almost swallowed her tongue as she noticed the man Kein standing again, gritting his teeth at the arrow in his shoulder.  "JADE!  We have to go!"  She pulled the girl up forcefully and grabbed Miliani's hand, pulling back clumsily.  Jade kept her grip on the necklace in her hand and it ripped from around Daine's neck.

The man Kein looked down at the screaming girl and smiled.  Atune felt her stomach drop.  "I've waited a while to see her dead."  Jade's red eyes snapped up and starred hard at him.  He flinched and stared in wonder.  "You…are so familiar to me."  Jade's eyes nearly glowed they were so bright and hard.  "I never thought…I never dreamed it would be so easy."  Atune pulled the two girls behind her and cursed at him.  Jade couldn't take her eyes off him.  And it seemed, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Jade."  Atune's voice was hard and dangerous, catching her attention quickly.  "Take Miliani and go."  Jade's eyes snapped to Miliani and then back to her mother's form laying a few feet away.  "NOW!" Atune's voice cried out in order.

Jade reached out to take Miliani's hand and keeping her eyes on the Man who made her stomach wrench painfully, she began pulled the five year old girl into a neighboring garden.

Kein walked up to Atune and looked her up and down.  He walked to follow the girls and seemed almost surprised when Atune lifted her arms and shoved at him.  He grabbed her arms and swung her around.  Atune, still shoeless, lost her footing and she felt the ground meet up to her back.  She flailed wildly and scratched at his face.  He punched her across the face and the world rocked on its axis.  She screamed in pain when he placed a knee on each of her thighs and bent her arms up.  He looked up to see where the two girls had run and screamed in rage when he could no longer see them.

He looked back down at her and his eyes changed.  The shade in his black eyes changed and hardened.  He sneered down at her.  She struggled her legs, but the pain from his weight was too much.  Her eyes widened in realization when he gripped both hands in one of his and reached down to the knot in her robe.

*****

She didn't know where to go.  She pulled Miliani behind her as she made her way back into the palace.  If she could find Alanna or George or _anyone_.  She refused to think about what had just happened.  Her stomach was hurting to much to consider anything.  "Why are we going back to the palace?"  Miliani's tiny voice called out.  
            Jade looked back.  "I don't know.  I don't know what to do."

"Well, that's stupid."  
            "I'm TRYING, Miliani!"  Jade trudged forward looking around each corner before running through it.  She was about to push into a room when she heard the girl whisper behind her.

"Ani."

"Huh?"

"Ani.  You can call me Ani."

"Oh."  Jade opened the door and entered into a vacant room.  She walked over to the closet an opened it, pushing Ani inside.

"What are you doing?"  
            "You need to hide in here Ani.  I'm going to look for help."

"NO."  She reached up and grabbed at her as Jade began to pull back.

Jade pried the girl off her.  "I'll be right back, I promise."  That seemed to calm the girl someone and she settled into the closet.  Jade closed the closet door and exited the room.  She jogged down the quiet hall and jumped when she heard some noises.  Turning, she ran  when she hear a familiar voice.

*****

Numair lifted his hand and let out a stream of black magic.  "This should be the last group," he called out.

Alanna and Gary looked around the corner and decided Numair was right.  "Who wants to go first?" Gary asked.

Alanna lifted her sword.  "That would be me."  Alanna lunged forward with the help of a shield put forward by Numair.  Gary followed and Numair took up the rear.  Five men stood with swords and Alanna and Gary began chopping away.  Numair kept the shield up nicely.  He felt a punch in his magic and he lost concentration.  Another man had snuck behind him and clubbed him over the head with a piece of board.  The world spun and he looked up to see the board coming down over his head again.  Gary pushed forward and stabbed the man through the heart.  He pulled back and turned to take down another man when he felt metal slide through him.

"GARY!"  Alanna roared.

Numair picked up a knife from the ground and placing a spell on it lunged it into the man's back.  Gary and the man both fell to the ground.  Alanna fell to her knees and picked up his head.  "No."  Gary's eyes were wide and empty.

She stood up quickly and screeched as she ran through another man.  Numair felt his heart ache.  He lifted his arm to attack again and his world shrunk before him.  Screaming and crying bombarded his hearing.  Fighting desperately against this unknown force, he looked to his side and saw the Lioness fighting with him.  Her sword was out and was in the mist of a deadly dual.  He was blasting at an oncoming enemy when he heard the world "Papa!" screeched behind him.  He turned his head around to see Jade standing against one of the hallway doors with dried tears streaked down her innocent face.  His mind went frantic momentarily.  He lifted his hand and pointed down the hall in the opposite direction of the fighting. "Run!" he hollered.

Jade's green eyes grew unimaginably large as she shook her head in refusal.  "I SAID RUN!"  She jumped slightly in surprise; after a moment of further hesitation, she turned quickly and ran down the hall, the darkness enveloping her form as she ran further into the dark halls until he could no longer see her.

The world righted itself again and he blinked in surprise.  He didn't have time to think about the vision; he had to fend off another dark fighter.

*****

OH WEEHOO! NEXT CHAPTER DONE.  OK HAVE FUN AND REMEMBER! REVIEW


	22. WHITE

            Ok…Wow!  I really really really really really liked writing this chapter.  I tried to edit it as best I could, but honestly, editing my own work is sorta pointless.  I just can't see the mistakes that seem so apparent on other people's writing.  Let me know if the mechanics and grammar are ok on this one.  Ok..enjoy.

Uncontrollable

By:  Karigan Marie

Chapter: WHITE

*****

Miliani sat in the closet, darkness all around her.  She waited.  She pulled at her nightgown, trying to tuck it under her freezing feet.  When the closet door swung open, she screamed in alarm, throwing her hands up.

            "Ani.  It's me, Jade."  Miliani looked up and almost began crying.

            "You scared me."

            Jade licked her lips and looked around.  She was shaking like a leaf and her throat strung horribly.  Her mind kept wandering to thoughts she refused to even consider.  She'd wake up soon and all this would be over.  Things like this didn't happen.  They just didn't.  "I'm sorry."  She wrapped her mother's claw necklace around her wrist with trembling fingers and tied several knots in it to keep it in place.  "Umm, I think…I think we should stay in here.  At least…at least until all the fighting…"  She was thrown against the wall with such force she felt the breath slam out of her lungs.  Gasping for air that didn't seem to be coming into her lungs, she heard Ani screech in fright.  When she could finally open her eyes without them watering, she looked up and noticed a man dressed in a black tunic and breeches with a silver sash tied across his waist.  He hefted the struggling princess under his arm and began walking towards the door, Ani kicking and screaming for all she was worth.

            Jade stood, and with as much energy and force as she could muster, ran towards the man.  She slammed into him as hard as she could.  It wasn't much, considering, but he was caught by surprise and nearly dropped Ani as he jerked to catch his step.  Jade heaved for air; she couldn't seem to get enough of it.  The man turned and swung his foot towards her when a small blazing red form slammed into the man.

Jade jumped back in surprise and almost cried in relief.  Kitten, having released the man, was down on all fours, crouched in a lunge position, ready to attack again.  Her sharp silver fangs were barred in a way Jade had never seen before.  She was making a noise in the back of her throat that was somewhere between a trill and a hiss, and she was so red, she nearly glowed.  The man pulled out a dagger from his side pocket and swiped at the small dragon.  Kitten jumped, quick as lightning, out of the way, and positioned herself for attack again.  She pumped her hind legs and lurched at the man, digging her teeth into the arm that wasn't holding the tiny princess.  The man screamed and tried to shake the dragon off him.  Kitten dug her front and back leg claws into him, spiting and hissing in anger.  Jade watched from the corner of the room with wide eyes.  The man swung around desperately.  In a moment of luck, he swung the blade around and caught kitten in the side.  The dragonet squeaked in pain and flew to the wall, dagger impaled under her wing.

"KITTEN!"  Jade screeched in anger.  She ran to the corner, picked up a broom and swung it at him as hard as she could.  It cracked on his shoulder and splintered.  Dropping Ani, the man screamed and swung at Jade.  She felt the fist land on her jaw and was thrown around and to the floor where she felt the taste of iron fill her mouth.  She spit out blood and stood quickly.  The man was reaching at his shoulder where the splintered broom had imbedded in his flesh.

            Running past the man, Jade grabbed on to Ani's arm and both girls scrambled from the room, Jade clenching the pain of Kitten out of her head.  Taking the lead, Jade barreled down the stairs with Ani's hand tightly gripped in hers.  She heard the man yell behind them and tried to go faster, but Ani's little legs couldn't keep up with any more speed.  Jade grit her teeth as she felt her foot catch on something and sting.  Ani was barefoot as well and when they reached the courtyards again, the frigid snow and frozen earth tore at their feet.  Jade pulled them through the garden corridors, being able to see in the darkness only by the dim glow of the fires and her familiarity with them.  They reached the back garden that Atune and her studied in often during the spring and slammed the old wooden door closed.  Ani was crying frantically and Jade felt as if her heart would burst out of her chest.  Looking around, she walked up to the tree and made a decision.  "Ani, we're going to climb the tree over the wall."

            "What?" The young girl sniffled pitifully.

            "We're going to climb the tree and over the wall.  It leads into the royal forest, we can hide in there."

            "I can't…I can't climb trees."

            Jade turned to her and reached for her.  "I'll help you.  It's not hard.  Come on."  She lifted Ani with all her might and instructed her to grab onto the branch.  After some jostling, Ani finally pulled herself up and waited for Jade.  Gripping the branch, Jade quickly hefted herself up, swinging her legs up and pulling her body up.  Ani starred at her.  "What?"

            "Wow.  You're really good at climbing trees."

            "Ya, I've been doing it a while.  Now, come one.  Reach for that one."  She helped Ani into the next branch and reached up to pull herself up.  The old wooden door opened and the man in black and silver from inside stuck his head in and peered around.  He caught sight of them and yelled out.  "Ani! Hurry!  Keep climbing! GO!"  Ani reached up and continued to pull herself up, Jade following closely.  When she had to give Ani a two hands to help her get to the top branch, Jade felt a hand wrap itself around her ankle and yank savagely.  She nearly fell out of the tree.  She caught the branch and felt her nightshirt and breeches rip on the wood.  She kicked furiously and pulled herself back up when she felt her foot freed.

            "Bok!  Over here!  There here!"  The man yelled and began climbing the tree himself.  Jade reached the top branch and shoved Ani on to the stone wall.  Following Jade grabbed her hand and ran down the thin stone ledge.  After about 20 yards, Jade noticed a hay stacking cart and thanked the God's for the small favor.  Ani seemed to have caught on to her thinking and quickly shook her head no.  Instead of wasting time convincing the girl, Jade shoved her hard.

            Ani screeched bloody murder as she fell the 13 feet.  Landing in the pile of hay.  Jade quickly followed.  They scrambled out of the hay stack and Ani hit her across the arm repeatedly, yelling at her and telling her how much she hated her.

            Jade was about to yell at her when she heard two men up on the stone wall.  "RUN!"  She grabbed onto Ani's hand and ran for all she was worth into the forest, where there seemed to be an endless supply of howling wolves and animals.

*****

            Empress Kalasin crossed the courtyard at Atune's reassurance she had Miliani.  When she passed a crossing, she felt a body slam into her and throw her into a corner.  Otadon still clutched in her hand, she screamed and fought the hand that covered her mouth.  "Empress!  It's all right.  Empress!"  She opened her eyes to one of her young guards and whimpered in fright. His dark brown hair and light tan was hardly visible in the darkness.  "I won't hurt you Empress."  She was breathing so heavily, she felt her lungs contract painfully.

            "Lt. Lenex!"  She breathed a sigh of relief and almost crumpled right there.  When she heard a shrieking from not to far away and knew it was Jade, she swung around to look for Atune and Miliani.  Noticing them not there, she panicked.  "My daughter! Lt. Lenex!  Miliani!"  She struggled to go back and find them, but Lenex held a tight grip on her.

            "Empress!  You can't go back.  I need to get you and his highness to safety!"

            "No! My daughter! We have to get Ani!"

            "Empress!  We can't.  I need to keep you safe!"

            "NO!" Kali screamed.  "MY DAUGHTER!"

            Otadon was silent next to his mother, but he tried to peer back around the corner, looking for any sign of Ani.

            "I'll find her.  Empress, I'll go back and look for her.  But you need to think of Otadon now.  You must keep him safe as well."  Kalasin was frantic with indecision.  "Empress, if you go back, Otadon may not live to see the day break.  I'll take you to your father and his guards and then I'll look for Miliani, I promise.  Tears streamed down the Empress' face as she nodded.

*****

            Ani cried in fright as the two girls pushed through the snapping tree branches and bushes.  They had slowed down considerably; the uneven ground and unknown objects cutting at their feet to badly to go quicker.  It seemed however, they were using just as much energy as when they were running as fast as they could.  Miliani's dark raven hair was plastered to her face, wet from some snow flakes falling on her.  Her tan face was incredibly pale and her body shivered violently.  Her white satin nightgown was so filthy, it was nearly brown.  Jade herself was a sight to see.  Her own hair was wet and tangled, making her growl every time she had to push a lock of it out of her sweaty face.  Her mouth hurt considerably and she was forming a hefty bruise on her hip from being slammed into the wall so hard.  Her white night breeches were ripped and torn and her feet stung worst of all.  She didn't acknowledge the blood splattered across her night shirt.

            She fell to her knees when a particularly bad cramp shot up her leg.  And she didn't find the strength to get back up.  Miliani cried and looked at her in fear.  "Don't give up."

            "What!" She asked Ani, angered at her suddenly.

            Ani shrugged and whimpered.  "I didn't say anything."

            "Don't give up."  Jade swung her head around, looking for the source of the words.

            "Who's there?"  She called out.  Ani looked at her strangely.

            "Don't give up."  Jade jerked her head to the side and starred at an evergreen in amazement.  "Ani."

            "What?"  The five-year-old was looking at her like she was crazy.

            "That tree is talking to me."

            Ani looked at the tree and then back at jade.  "None of the trees in Carthak talk."

            "Don't give up."  The whisper was more urgent now.

            Jade let out a laugh.  "Don't give up?  Why? I can't outrun them!"  She glared at the tree.

            "You are the hunted now."  Jade jerked her head to another tree, farther down.  She started to feel scared.  "Your power will not betray you."  A bush this time, or was it the winter weeds that grew through the snow.  She heard twigs break behind them and heard the two men closing in.  From another angle came a sharp voice, so much clearer this time.  "Run!"  So she ran.

            The two girls ran deeper into the forest.  When Jade peered back she felt her heart speed up when she noticed two bodies not to far away.  In the dark, if she could see them, they were much to close.  She didn't know quite where they were, she had an idea, but the snow had changed the land marks and she was just running for life at this point.  They reached a clearing covered in white snow, perfectly flat.  Pushing past the last tree, a heavy willow covered in ice crystals, Jade and Ani picked up their pace and ran harder.

            Her feet were slicing through the snow too easily.  This was untouched snow, light and feathery.  Not even animals had packed this snow in and she wondered idly, why.  Then she heard it.  She felt it more.  But the sound confirmed it.  She felt slick hard smoothness under her feet when her feet cut through the snow.  She slowed to a stop and listened.  And then her heart stopped in realization when she heard the low groaning.

They were on ice.

The lake! They were on the lake!  Jade heard the groaning of ice under feet and froze.  Ani looked at her expectantly.  "Jade?"

"Ani.  We're on ice.  Hold still."  Ani's face got whiter, if possible, and she started to cry and move back.  "NO! Ani.  Don't move."  She tried to think frantically.  They were only five or six feet from the edge, but if they went back they would get caught.  If they didn't, they might fall in.  She was about to instruct Ani to lay flat on the ice when the two men reached the edge and stopped.

            "Well, looky here.  Two innocent girls…caught on the ice.  Isn't this funny, Bok?"  The man was pressing onto the wounds on his arm and shoulder.

            The other one laughed.  "You know girls, this couldn't be more perfect.  Onam wants the royal family dead.  And well, he has a special dislike of green eyed girls."

            Jade grabbed on to Ani's hand.  "Ani," she whispered.  "No matter what, don't let go of my hand, alright?" Ani nodded, keeping her eyes on the two men laughing at the edge of the lake.

            The man that had attacked them in the room reached behind him and hefted his war ax into his hands, twirling with a smile.  Jade clenched Ani's hand painfully.  She started shaking in fear when the man brought up the ax and swung it down hard on the ice.  Both girls jumped slightly as the ice cracked around them, groaning loudly.

            "Jade!" screeched Ani, clutching her hand frantically.

            "Don't let go of me!"  Jade felt her stomach lurch in heat, the fear gripping her entire frame.  The man swung the ax up again and swung down with all his might again.  She heard the ice break around them and then felt the world drop away from her.  She wasn't quite sure if the high pitched screech that rung out over the forest was hers or Ani's.  All she knew was the world turning black.

*****

The two men laughed, hitting their knees in glee.  "What do you think we'll get for this? Fifty, sixty pounds?"

"Nooo.  At least one hundred pounds, dope."  The second man, Bok laughed hysterically.

"Either way, Onam is going to give us a ton of land once we take over Carthak!"  He whooped in joy.  And then his breath was cut short when an arrow pierced through his neck.  Bok lurched around in surprise.

Jogging towards them was one of the young Cartheki guard, brown hair blowing in the snowy wind.  His dark black eyes snapped in livid rage, one armed raised aiming a reset crossbow at the man's head.  "No one is taking over Carthak.  I guarantee you that.  I suggest you get out of the way."  The young guard rushed forward and shoved the man against the giant willow tree, his eyes flickering to the hole in the ice frantically.  "If you move, I'll put an arrow between your eyes," he ground out angrily.  Unexpectedly, the man slammed his elbow back into the guards face, catching him off guard.  He fell back and landed on the ground.  The guard reached down, grabbing the ax from his fallen partner and swung it up and back.

They were both blinded then, from the lake covered in ice and snow.  Brilliant green light burst through the cracks in an odd puzzle like design and exploded.  Under the clear ice, the water glowed brilliant green.  The Cartheki guard lifted his arm up to his eyes to shield them from the glare reflecting off the white snow.  Bok looked around wildly and screamed when the giant willow at the edge of the lake groaned so loudly, it deafened their ears.  The young guard looked around wildly as streaks of brilliant green light shot from the lake in every direction, continuing on beyond his range of sight.  All around, the forest groaned and cracked.  The giant willow tree swayed violently, cracking and splintering with the effort.  It bent nearly in half crushing its branches into the lake's icy surface, efficiently crushing the man with the ax as well.  The young guard looked on in amazement as the tree began to right itself.  The stress from bending so dramatically evident in the trunk; cracks and splits ran along its side from top to bottom.  And then he saw a body, two actually, one slightly larger than the other.  Two girls, one gripping at a branch weekly with one arm and in the other she carried the younger girl, the princess.  She seemed to loose her grip and splashed pack into the water.

*****

It was black at first.  Painless really.  Just a lot of black.  And then she came back to herself and pain ripped through her.  A thousand needles pierced her skin mercilessly.  She couldn't breath.  She tried, desperately.  The frigid ice around her entire body was ripping away at her in painful strips.  She tried to breathe in, again.  All she got was a lungful of frozen water and more icy pain.  She could feel her lungs fighting the pressure.  The reality of the situation was setting in and she suddenly realized with fright that this was all too familiar.

            Her dream.  This was her dream.

            She felt her left hand grip onto Ani's hand with unrestrained conviction, refusing to let go.  She wouldn't let go.  She followed her bubbles up and soon ran into a layer of white.  White so bright it hurt her eyes.  Her left hand gripped in Ani's, she reached up with her free right hand and tried to punch through the white blanket above her.  Pure white, yet, so incredibly dark.

            She couldn't remember ever being so scared in her life.

            If she couldn't breathe, this would be it.  Her heart was pounding at her chest, trying to break through her ribs.  She scratched frantically at the white sheet in sharp thrusts as the horror of what was happening slowed down time around her, dragging each second out endlessly.  If she could just…take…one…more…breathe.  This was supposed to be the end of the dream.  This was the part where she woke up, when she didn't think she could get any more frightened.  She raked her hand across the hard surface again.  The fear ripped through her body so violently, her heart nearly stopped.  Opening her mouth, she let out a water filled screech of unrestrained horror.

            She felt something at the pit of her stomach burn through her body.  It ripped through her so violently, she nearly blacked out.  And suddenly, everything inside her exploded.  And then the world that was so white was suddenly brilliant green.

            She felt something crash through the surface above her and slam her down further into the water.  She gripped onto Ani's hand for dear life and clung to what ever was in the water.  They were pulled up quickly and Jade felt the air rip into her lungs painfully; she swallowed every breath.  She was bogged down in freezing water and the windy air was ripping at her face.  She couldn't feel her fingers and couldn't grip whatever it was she was holding on to.  She fell back into the water with a slight splash, grasping for the edge of the ice.  She pulled a motionless Ani up and tried to use the last of her strength to push her on top of the ice, but her arms gave out and she cried out in frustration, though her voice was nearly gone.  Then an arm reached over them and pulled Ani out easily.  Jade let go of her hand finally and grabbed the edge of the ice again, attempting to pull herself out.  She got halfway out when the same arm reached for her shirt and pulled her the rest of the way out.  It dragged her flat against the ice until she reached the side of the lake.  Her eyes were blinded from the freezing cold, but after a few moments, it cleared slightly to a blur and she could barely make out a man over her instructing her to strip down.

            She was utterly confused.  She didn't know what to say or think, and she was suddenly very sleepy.  Her teeth were chattering so hard, she had the wild idea she might actually chip one.  When she noticed him frantically pulling off Ani's clothing, she tried to focus on Ani's face.  Her lips were blue and her face whiter than even the snow.  She stared at the lips, squinting through the blur.  She noticed something.  "She's not breathing."

            "What?" he asked, her voice had nearly died away and the words hurt to rip out.

            "She's not breathing."

            The man looked at Ani and scrambled to her face.  Time seemed to still for Jade.  She noticed him leaning over the girl, breathing hard, shaking her body and commanding her to wake up.  Jade watched as Ani finally breathed and the man almost seemed to collapse in relief.  He finished stripping the five year old naked.  He struggled to get his winter guard jacket off of himself and wrap it around the girl.  It seemed to cover her thoroughly from head to toe.  He rubbed his hands along Ani's arms and legs hard and viciously, creating desperately needed frictional heat.

            He looked at Jade then, and she wasn't sure what to make of his expression, it was much too blurry to try and decipher facial expressions.  "Get these off."

            "Huh?"

            He reached forward and grabbed at her shirt, pulling her arms out, her black curly hair that had been dripping water was now frozen in place, icicles cracking noisily as he pulled the shirt up over her head.  He reached down and pulled at her breeches and she couldn't help but notice, through her daze, he seemed to be strategically averting his eyes.  She had to wonder at that.  She sat then, naked on the frozen forest floor and she couldn't move or think, the wind ripping at her skin painfully.  When she stopped shivering violently, she was almost relieved, until he seemed to grow frantic next to her, telling her to open her eyes.  She hadn't realized they were closed.

He stood and pulled at his shirt, ripping it over his head.  She just looked at him, curious, and very sleepy.  He stooped down and pushed his shirt over her head, reaching in and pulling her arms through it.  He rubbed his hands up and down her arms.  And it hurt.  It hurt like nothing else, but she couldn't really seem to find the energy to tell him to stop.  He stopped rubbing at her and pulled at the gloves on his hands.  He ripped them off and began shoving them over hers.  They were much too big she thought, and tried to voice her opinions.  When only a croak came out, she cleared her throat.

            He looked up at her face then, noticing she wanted to say something; and then he froze.  He starred at her eyes with wonder, and Jade had never seen anyone looking at her like he was just then.  He wasn't afraid or angry or even apprehensive.  He seemed completely pleasantly amazed.  "Your eyes…" he started, his voice fading.

            "I know." She said with a sigh.  She cringed at her own voice as it cracked.  "They don't look right."  It came out no louder than a hoarse whisper.

            She heard his slight laugh, deep and throaty, but couldn't make out the smile through the blur.  "No.  I was just going to say…your eyes, they're glowing."

            "Huh?"  
            In a resigned voice he whispered.  "There's nothing wrong with your eyes.  They're beautiful."  She squinted, trying to see his face.  He looked to his side, checking on the princess, who was still shivering violently.  She heard screaming from far away.  She was momentarily frightened until he stood quickly and yelled in reply.  "OVER HERE!"

            She was so confused at what was going on, she didn't realize anything had happened until a familiar face reached down and took her from the offered hands of a guard and placed her in front of him on a horse, curled up against his chest.  "Here there, lass.  You're safe now."

            "Uncle George," she murmured.

            "Hush.  We're going back to the palace.  Everything's all right now."  She didn't have the heart to tell him how wrong he was.

            She was drifting in and out of consciousness as they rode back to the palace.  When she opened her eyes at one point, she noticed one of the guards, looking at her from his place on the ground.  He was shirtless…right…the man that pulled her out.  He smiled at her then, and all she could do was shut her eyes and fall into sleep.

*****

  OK…review review review.  I think this has to be one of my best chapters.  Hope you all like it.  I really want to hear reviews from this chapter, because I hope you all like it as much as I do, even if it is kinda sad and depressing.  See ya soon!


	23. It just does

OK: NEXT CHAPTER…THIS ONE IS SAD…AND THE END…WELL IT'S A BIT OF A TEAR JERKER…I **HOPE ANYWAYS.  TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.**

*****

Uncontrollable

By: Karigan Marie

Chapter: It just…does.

*****

She didn't want to open her eyes.  She was warm and comfortable, though she ached a bit.  Tucked nicely into the bed, she didn't want to wake from her dream, her mother and her dancing around her room years ago, laughing and stumbling.  But she did, wake up, that is.  She cracked open her eyes.  Half expecting to see Atune rush in and begin chastising her on her lack of energy in the morning, she looked around lazily with her green orbs.

            But, she wasn't in her room.  She was in the hospital wing.  The room was small but open.  The light streamed in from the stained glass window, shining through with vigor.  She turned her neck slightly to get a better look.  She didn't see anyone so she spread her curled up legs out a bit and yawned greatly, turning onto her back.  Her feet nudged at something and she looked down to see a sleeping Kitten, a white bandage wrapped around her entire middle, looking a pale gray, sleeping soundly.  She saw the whole room then, and in a corner, curled up in a small cushioned chair, was Amena.

            "Amena…"  She hadn't expected her voice to crack and break so much.

            The nearly 12 year old girl's head came up quickly.  Her eyes were half closed, red and swollen.  She smiled in happiness, pulled herself up from the chair and quickly swooped down to sit on the floor next to Jade's head, coming to eye level with her.  "Hey."  It as whispered softly and warmly.  "Welcome back."

            Jade had to think for a moment.  She was still slightly confused.  "What are you doing here?"

            Amena smiled warmly.  "I just wanted to see you."

            "Oh."  Jade swallowed hard.  It didn't come to her quickly like some would think.  She didn't remember in a split second.  It came gradually, the memories; waking up in the night to loud noises, running with her mother out of their suite, waiting with Atune in the back corridor rooms, running for dear life with the Empress, her mother…splayed out on the ground, blood dripping out of her mouth, pressing the claw into her hand.  Jade looked down and noticed the claw and cord still tied around her wrist, devoid of any blood.  And then she remembered her father, ordering her to run, wanting to tell him no, that she had to tell him what had happened.  She didn't want anyone else to tell him.  And then the running.  She remembered that, too.  And ice.  Ice so cold it sliced through her skin.  And the man pulling her out, pulling Ani out.  Her body jumped in surprise.  "Ani!"

            Amena leaned back in surprise.  "Who?"

            "Ani. Where is Ani?"

            "Who's Ani?"

            "Miliani."

            Amena let out a sigh in understanding.  "She's all right.  They have her in her own rooms.  She woke up yesterday evening."  Jade relaxed back into her pillow.  Amena twisted her hands.  "Jade…"

            "She's gone."  Amena looked up at her with sad eyes.  "I remember."

            Amena swallowed hard and tears glistened in her eyes.  "I'm so sorry, Jade."  Her voice cracked and Jade wondered momentarily if crying would be the normal thing to do right now, because she didn't feel like crying.  She looked down at her hands, red and cracked.

            "Where's…where's Papa?"

            Amena shifted onto her knees.  "He went with the Lioness, to the tombs.  He'll be back soon."

            Jade scrunched up her nose.  "The tombs? Mama wasn't a noble, she can't be buried there."

            Amena wiped at some stray tears and cleared her throat.  "No.  Your ma was buried yesterday, out in the pastures."

            "Oh."  She'd missed her own mother's burial.  "Then…"

            "It's for Sir Thom."

            And that shocked her.  "Thom?"

            Amena nodded sadly.  "They were burning all our homes, on the walls edge.  I guess it was easier seeing as they're made of wood.  Most of us got out easily enough, but some got trapped.  Thom tried to save them."  And Jade couldn't help but wonder which was worse, loosing your mother or loosing your son.

            And the next question that crossed her mind made her dread the answer.  "How many?"

            "I'm not sure.  More than a few."  She squinted in concentration.  "12 Tortallan Guards, 8 Carthaki, 5 ambassadors from Carthak, but they betrayed the Empress, Sir Gary of Naxen, Thom…your mother…Buri was stabbed in the leg, but she's all right, the north kitchen cooks all died, a few others.  And a whole bunch of Rebels."

            Jade sighed.  This just didn't happen.  It didn't.  She was almost afraid to ask.  "How's my father?"

            And she knew by look on Amena's face that the answer would be worse than she thought.  "He's really worried about you.  Made me promise I wouldn't leave your side until he got back.  He's…sad.  I don't know what else, he just looks…" and she had to think about her next words.  "…sad," she said, defeated."  I haven't gotten to see him too much."

            Jade was silent, thinking.  And Amena shifted again, trying to think of how to broach the next subject.  "Jade…" and she had to recollect her thoughts.  "Look…"

            Jade didn't want to hear this, she could tell already.  "What?" It came out so quietly and frightened, Amena hardly heard it.

            "Umm, Atune…well…Atune was…she got hurt pretty bad."

            Jade started shaking; she didn't want to hear this.  "How bad?"

            "She's all right.  She's…well, she's not going to die or anything…it's just…well, she got hurt."

            "Amena…" it was a plead for the truth.

            Amena sighed and wiping some more tears of her face.  "She was attacked.  And she…well, someone raped her, Jade."

            Jade turned over then, facing the wall.  She knew what that meant, knew that some women apparently never recovered from an attack like that; she knew what it involved, her parents had sat her down not to long ago and explained the entire 'birds and bees' concept in detail.  And there seemed to be little worse in some women's eyes than being attacked like that.  She turned over and curled up in a little ball, covering her face with her arms, bringing her knees up high.

            Amena scrambled to the other side.  "Jade."

            "Go away, Amena.  Please."  It was whispered so quietly.  But Amena could hear the utter control in it.

            "It's not bad to cry, Jade. There's nothing wrong with feeling bad."

            "Go away."  This time, she whisper came out harshly, and the familiar heat started at the pit of her stomach.

            Amena swallowed and nodded.  "Umm, sure.  Listen, I'm just going to go get Duke Baird and tell him you woke up."  When no answer came forth she stood leaned over and kissed Jade's exposed hand.  "I'm glad you're ok, Jade."

            Jade heard Amena step quietly out of the room.  When she heard the door click softly, she let out a small sob, not much, just to get the edge off.  She regretted it immediately.  Without noticing its release, green fire shot out from her mouth and slammed into a cabinet full of medicinal herbs.  It shattered when the herbs weeded up so quickly, it burst open.  Jade scrambled up to the headboard, pressing herself into it with wide eyes.

            The Duke opened the door quickly and looked around.  "What happened?"

            Jade didn't say a word.  She looked down at the sheets and stared hard.  The Duke sighed and proceeded with the check-up.

*****

            The next time she came into consciousness, her face was being nudged at.  She scrunched her face up, craned her neck back and opened her eyes to see Kitten not three inches from her face.  Kitten pushed up against her and snuggled eagerly and Jade couldn't not hug her tight.  "Thank you, Kit."

            "She's a bit sore still, but dragons heal quickly."  The voice surprised her.  It was low and rough and sounded as if it cost the person to say it.  She turned her head quickly to see.  Her heart kicked up in speed at the sight of her father.  He sat on a chair pulled up close to the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees.  His face was ashen, a stark contrast with the black cotton shirt and breeches he wore.  His eyes were blood shot from lack of sleep and puffy from what looked like crying.  She'd never seen her father look so ill.  "Papa."  She'd never had lack of words with her father; now, she couldn't think of anything to say.

            "You scared me."  The words were torn from his throat with such agony she froze on the spot.  "I tried to bring her back, I had healers all around trying to bring her back.  But she's gone and I couldn't handle it.  And I thought it would be the end of my world.  I thought she took everything good inside me with her.  And then…and then there was this noise from beyond the palace walls…and it took a few seconds, for it to reach us…but it did.  These huge streaks of green light tore through the wall and kept going.  The trees in the courtyards grew a good ten feet higher in a less than three seconds, but it was too much for them and they snapped in half…some others just withered away…" he took a deep breath.  "And I knew it was you, I knew it was you and something was wrong and I knew **I** was wrong.  She didn't take everything with her, she left you.  She left me you…and something was wrong."  Numair started shaking.  "When they brought you back, you were so white I thought you were gone too.  For a few seconds, I thought I'd _really_ lost everything.  When they told me you were alive... you **scared** me, Jade."

            She stared at her father for endless seconds.  She had never heard him talk like this.  He didn't seem to be able to look at her.  Her heart sank and she accepted his quiet refusal of her with little effort.  She knew then, she hadn't just lost her mother, she'd lost _him_ as well.  She'd never have him back, not the way he was before.  She clenched her eyes shut and took a deep breath.  He was grateful to have her here still; but she could see how much it hurt him, almost as much as not having her here would have been.  "I know…I'm sorry Papa."

            He kept his eyes down, his hands clutched together.  "I'm sorry, Jade."  It cost him so much to say that, she could tell.  He was forcing out the words, something he'd **never** had to do with her before and she _hated_ him for it, but she understood.  "It's ok, Papa."

            He brought up his tortured eyes then, and they seemed so distant, so disconnected.  And it was further proof of the fact that she'd lost him.  He was fighting an inner battle, trying not to fall apart at the seams, for her…and she knew _he hated __her for it.  He wanted to fall apart, she could tell.  She was the only thing forcing him to hold it together.  He looked at her hands then, and pointed.  "Do they hurt?"  It was an effort to get off the subject._

She looked down at said hands.  They were dry and cracked and red.  She licked her lips and noticed they were dry and cracked also.  She hadn't thought about her appearance until now.  From the way she felt, and she really couldn't trust that judgment, because she felt like lying down and dieing, she probably looked on this side of dead.  

"No."  They didn't.  They were stiff, but they didn't hurt.  She shivered then, half in relief and half in utter dread.  This is how it was going to be from now on, this would be how he'd have to deal with her from now on, to avoid falling apart.  It was a painful thought, but she was almost grateful, she could deny everything inside herself too.  It wasn't real; things like this didn't happen.  "Papa?"  He lifted his eyebrows in response.  "Is…is Atune…is she still hurt?"

His eyes changed.  It was odd; they went from one form of sadness to another, one of pity.  "She's doing better.  She's…going to need some time.  You understand that?"  She nodded.  "You'll need to stay in here another day or two according to Duke Baird, and then you can leave."  She nodded, looking down at her hands twisting in the scratchy cotton sheet.  "Jade…"  She looked up.  "I love you."  It hurt him to say it, she could tell.  It hurt him to even feel it.  And for a moment, she wished he didn't love her, because then he wouldn't have to feel the pain.  He leaned forward and hugged her gingerly and she hugged him back, burying her face in his chest.  He pressed her head tightly against him and rested his chin on the top of her head, stroking the black curls softly.  She didn't cry, and she accepted the fact that she probably wouldn't, not over this, not over her own mother, because things like this didn't happen, they just didn't.  With that thought, she fell asleep.

*****

She'd been up and about for two days, under strict orders to take it easy.  She didn't go outside; she would die happy if she never saw snow and ice again.  Besides, she didn't think she wanted to go outside any time soon.  Amena had filled her in on the 'damage'.  It wasn't the damage done by the Rebels that she was scared to look at, it was her own damage.  She'd been observant in the castle.  There wasn't a single plant sitting around, and she would have been slightly offended that they'd think she'd hurt people with her magic if Amena hadn't told her that all the plants had withered into ash when her magic had come tearing through.  And when she asked about outside the palace, Amena had grudgingly informed her that near half the trees in the royal forest had turned to ash by morning following the attack.  The now two Tortallan Wild mages in residence and the Three Cartheki Wild Mages spent their time trying to relocate animals that had lost their homes in the forest.  With the lack of protective barriers in the already barren snow covered forest, they wouldn't be able to survive the harshest part of winter, which was yet to come.

She had to go to her room after hearing that and stared at herself in the mirror.  Her black curls were neatly combed and fell to her shoulders in soft locks, courtesy of one of the hall maids.  She wore a very simple long sleeved black dress that barely reached her toes.  Her face was pale save for the still blue and purple bruise across her lip and chin.  Her lips were still cracked and often bled if she licked them to much.  She looked worn and tired, she looked dead.  She hated what she saw, hated the color black as much as she hated the color white, they both were the color of death to her.  She curled up in her bed, pulling her long dress around her feet, chasing away even the slightest amount of chill and stared at her wall for hours.  Everything her magic touched died.  And it was getting worse, Milona, healthy and happy as can be, seemed to be immune from the general mourning atmosphere going around the castle and city, she began her usual cruel tricks the moment Jade came into sight.  She'd gotten furious that first time and screamed for Milona to just leave her alone.  The horrible girl didn't even seem to care that she' just lost her mother.  Green fire had shot out of the clenched hands at her sides and shot directly into the stone floor.  Green ivy had burst through the cracks, splitting the stone.  Milona had gone screaming, only to continue the torture by telling all the palace children that she was trying to kill her.

She thought about a lot of things in those hours, watching the sun through her window gradually leave the sky to fall behind the far frozen horizon.  The Lioness left the palace with Uncle George and their two children.  King Jonathan had given them leave for mourning and the now smaller family had escaped to Pirate's Swoop to spend the rest of winter in quiet seclusion.  Amena, whose wooden house had been burnt down during the attack, spent most of her time with her parents, helping to rebuild the small grouping of houses that served as homes for permanent resident servants.  Atune…well, Atune didn't leave her room much.  She'd come to visit Jade the second day she'd been awake in the hospital wing, but it had been a short one, and they had said little and of no actual meaning.  There were no actual physical marks on Atune's body, though she covered a good portion of it with her own black dresses; it was hard to actually see her, to know that she was in some kind of pain and not know how to help her; she wasn't even sure what it was that hurt so much, she still had only a very basic understanding of what rape actually was.  All she knew was that Atune, who had always been outspoken and energetic, was now reserved and subdued, though she tried to hide it.  She'd kissed Jade on the cheek and said she was tired, walking quietly out of the room, never acknowledging anything about Daine.

She noticed the twinkle of twilight out of the window and was only slightly surprised when someone rapped on her door.  She turned her head to see as Numair stepped through the door, still looking pale and tired and just sad.  "Jade, there's someone here to see you."  Jade sat up slightly on one elbow to see who it was.  Her father stepped aside and someone she hadn't expected to ever see again stepped through her bedroom door.  Empress Kalasin stood there, a soft sad smile across her lips.  She turned to Numair and smiled at him.

"Numair, could I have a moment?"

Numair nodded and began to back away.  Kalasin placed a hand on his arm and smiled at him sadly.  He looked at her and made an attempt at a smile; it failed miserably.  He left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Jade sat up all the way and placed her feet on the floor, nervously twitching her hands.  The Empress had on a long conservative black dress, embroidery only in the cuffs and hem.  Her hair was pulled back in the simplest of braids, no pins, no jewels; it hung loosely over one shoulder.  Her face, usually ivory, was slightly pale and the slight bags under her eyes showed signs of sleepless nights.  She looked beautiful.

Black.  The color of mourning.  Jade looked away quickly and banished the thoughts from her mind.  The Empress took a few steps closer until she was standing directly in front of her.  Jade lifted her head slightly and peered at the woman above her.  And she noticed a few tears run down the flawless skin.  Kalasin fell to her knees in front of Jade, catching her by surprise.  They stared into each other's eyes, ice blue to brilliant green.  Kalasin looked down with a sniff and gently picked up one of Jade's still dry and cracked hands.  She turned it over in her own gentle hands , softy running her fingers up and down the palms.  Without realizing it, Jade felt herself relax slightly, focusing on the feel of soft hands on her own.  When the Empress spoke, so very softly, her eyes still glued to Jade's hands, it caught Jade off guard.

"When I was eight, your mother was 13."  Jade swallowed.  She didn't want to think about this.  "She came to Pirate's Swoop where Roald and I were vacationing.  She came with your father and the Lioness, and my own mother and Buri- her private guard, and Onua.  She was so young…and she was so scared …and she was in so much pain."  Kalasin's eyebrows scrunched up at those words.  "…but she was…she was so strong and… and when Pirate's Swoop was attacked, she was the one that saved us.  The Emperor Orzone had sent his war ships and stormwings to come get us…my mother, brother and I.  Had it not been for her, her and her magic, the magic that she still didn't understand or have control over, we would have been lost."  Jade felt the familiar sting in her throat.  "She saved us."  Kalasin took a deep breath and looked up at the green eyed girl with tears streaming down her perfect ivory face.  "And now…now _you…her daughter…saved _my_ child."_

Jade felt her heart clench painfully and she shifted uncomfortably, averting her eyes to her hands again.  "No.  I…I didn't do anything, Empress."  She wasn't _anything like he mother, though she wished she were._

Kalasin let go of her and placed her soft hands on either side of Jade's face, bringing it up to look at her.  "You did.  Jade, my guard told me what he saw, how he saw you pulling her out of the water…and Ani told me how you fought for her safety and ran with her."  Kalasin clenched her eyes as more tears came.  She was crying softly.  Opening her eyes she whispered, "You saved the Princess of Carthak, Jade.  But more importantly, you saved the life of my daughter."  Jade felt the heat rise to her cheeks in a blush.  Kalasin, keeping one hand on Jade's cheek, ran the other through her well kept curls.  "Your mother would be **so proud of you, Jade."**

And _that… _that had been too much.  Jade clenched her eyes shut in abject pain and felt her body tremble with suppressed sobs.  Kalasin cried silently when Jade fell forward against her chest, she wrapped her arms tightly around the small girl, ignoring the stream of green magic dripping from the bed and the weeds spurting through the cracks with a sad smile; she rocked her shaking form back and forth.  Jade let herself be held.  She didn't cry, and again she was sure she never would.  But she breathed heavily, heaving for air, desperate to breathe easy again, desperate for the pain to just **stop**.  She shook with a force she had never experienced before, not even when she couldn't breathe under the ice; because things like this…things like this just _didn't_ happen.  But it just had; and accepting that…had been the most painful part of all.

*****

A/N:  Oh wow…hmm.  Kinda sad.  But I told you this story wasn't going to be terribly happy.  It's not over yet, still got a bit to go.  Don't expect many happy plot turns.  It doesn't get too much worse…but there's a ways to go before it gets any better.

READ AND REVIEW      I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK…BE SPECIFIC PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSEEE


	24. sweet sadness

Ok.  I finished the next chapter. I would really like to thank kathyasjoane for helping me with the editing.

Um, this isn't really a _sad_ chapter, but well, ya it is.  Say goodbye to Tortall for a while ladies and gentlemen.  We won't be returning for a long time.

*****

Uncontrollable

By: Karigan Marie

Chapter: sweet sadness

*****

            It got her mind off the real world, if nothing else.  The book was really a work of imagination; humans with no magic and barely recognizing only one god, living into the night only because of the illumination provided to them by harnessed light and energy.  She's picked the book up from one of the many far back corners of the library in hopes to occupy her time; Jade just wasn't used to being so completely idle.  She turned a page in the book and read on, her mind only paying attention to half the words her eyes read.  Her mind wandered easily these days, and it was all she could do not to think about things that she concluded better left unthought-of.

            Two months had gone by since the attack on the castle, life had returned to normal, in routine, if not in mood.  The Empress and what remained of her delegation was to return to Carthak in a week, and the castle would settle down for the remainder of the winter.  Her life, what used to be her world was anything but returning to normal.

            The relationship between her father and herself was strained to a point of casual smiles and unsure hugs.  He spent most of his hours in his study, burying himself in work, more than likely to keep his mind from unpleasant thoughts.  It was different, Jade supposed, than how he used to bury himself in his work.  He'd always been so enraptured by magic, always been so completely engrossed by it, it nearly vexed her mother on several occasions.  Jade scrunched her eyes to the book and concentrated harder, her mind was wandering again.  'A flick of a switch and the overhead lights would come on immediately, cords sending signals to each other almost instantly.'  She slammed the book closed.  Kitten,  who was curled up next to the fire, lifted her long neck and head up to look at her.  "What an incredibly boring life," she told the dragonet.  "Who would want to live there?"  Kitten fell back to sleep.

            She leaned back into her chair and, with the tip of her foot, toyed with the underside of the table.  She slumped down a bit, and sighed.  She played with the cotton material of her dress.  It really was quite ugly.  It had long sleeves that were extremely loose, meant to hang and flow all the way down to her wrist, where there was no sleeve hem, which meant, if she wanted too, she could fold the sleeve up all she wanted.  She thought better of it, didn't like the horrible cold draft on her arm, and in the end, it only made it uglier.  It had a very simple neckline with no trimming and no decoration.  The torso of the dress was tight but very conservative; and even for an eight-year-old girl, incredibly unflattering.  Buttons littered the back; the maid had counted 35 small buttons.  The dress then fell undramatically to her feet.  There were no designs, no cuts to make it flow nicely, no trimmings.  It's blackness making it all the more depressing to be in.

            She was surprised then, when one of their suite's doors opened and Atune stepped out of her bedroom.  She had on a very simple dark blue dress, her hair pulled back into a knot.  The dress did nothing for her pale completion.  That along with her blonde hair only served to make the dress stand out more clearly.  Jade grumbled slightly, Atune's dress didn't make her look ugly, just tired.  She sat up in her chair and looked towards her, eyes wide.  Atune must have seen the desperate look of hope on Jade's face; she smiled softly and walked over.  She stopped when she reached the edge of the table.  "Are you reading something interesting?"

            Jade's eyes widened at her in surprise.  It had been the first time Atune had willingly started a conversation.  She leaped on the opportunity.  "Yes," She lied.

            "What is it about?"

            Jade stared at the book.  "Umm…"

            Atune smiled.  "My mind wanders sometimes, too"

            That caught her attention and she swallowed uneasily.  "Are you all better?"

            Atune's eyes, which had been tired and warn, seemed to fade slightly. "I'm getting better."  She said in reassurance.  She seemed at war with herself.  She wanted to know something, but didn't want to ask.  And that was strange, because Atune was never one to be shy.

            "Atune?"

            She breathed deeply and met Jade's eyes.  "Yes?"

            She didn't want to bring this up, knew Atune wouldn't like it; but she had to know, she needed to add it up in her head.  "That…that man, the one that hurt you?"

            Atune's entire body stiffened, her sky blue eyes turning icy with fear.  She nodded stiffly.

            Jade liked her lips, now completely healed, and cleared her throat.  "Was he…was he the man that…that…" and the words caught in her throat and she felt her stomach clench painfully.  "…that killed Mama, the one that I saw?"

            Atune, maybe grateful that the conversation wasn't going to focus solely on her, sighed sadly.  "Yes."

            Jade looked down at her hands in thought, twisting it around in her head.  Because there was something seriously bothering her, and she just wanted to get it off her chest, find out if her fears were grounded or not, because she didn't want to have to think about this all the time, too.  And she figured, she'd just spill it, just say it and get it out, and Atune would tell her she'd heard wrong, that there was nothing to worry about.  "He knew me."

"I know."

And that had _not been what she wanted to hear.  She had wanted a simple 'you heard wrong' to ease the nervousness.  She hadn't expected to snap her head up at that simple affirmation and see the look of sadness on Atune's face.  And Jade realized, that it hadn't just been bothering her, it had been bothering Atune as well.  She started to tremble, because she couldn't hide it anymore.  Couldn't sit there and ignore what had happened.  She felt her own nails digging into he palms and when she looked down, she was not too surprised to see that the wooden chair she was sitting on seemed to be sprouting twigs.  Hmm…interesting.  The aside was only momentary as she looked back up at her tutor, who was looking into the distance, thinking.  "Atune?"_

And before Atune could meet her eyes, Jade looked down at her hands again, and an enormous amount of shame washed over her, because she knew what she was about to say would only make things more complicated.  "I knew him, too."

*****

"You wanted to see me?"  Atune said as she stepped through into Numair's study.  The Empress had left a few days ago, and much of the work load had died down, giving Numair little time to occupy his rampant mind.

"Yes."  Numair stood from his seat, his tall frame towering her, and she shrunk back unconsciously.  He seemed a bit concerned at that.  "Would you prefer to go somewhere a little less…constrained….to speak?"

"No."  She held up her hand.  "I'm fine."

He nodded.  "I wanted to speak with you about something rather important."

"Yes.  Certainly."

"I've spoken with his Excellency about my decision, and despite his dislike of the situation, he has given permission."

"Permission?"

"I am to leave Tortall, and go to Carthak.  Jade is coming with me…we will not be returning, not for residency at least."

"…"  
            "I believe," he paused for a moment.  "…this is for the best, for Jade and for myself.  She is not happy here, and quite frankly, neither am I."  The only sign of surprise on Atune was her wide staring eyes.  "I am, of course, still loyal to Tortall, and will continue to work through Carthak, since they are on sisterly terms."  He picked up some sheets of parchment and reached to hand them to her.  She took them with reluctant hands.  "These are for you."

She took them, keeping disbelieving eyes on him.  "How is Jade taking this news?"

"She's not," was his simple answer.  "I haven't told her yet.  I will soon.  "We leave in a month, when spring makes travel easier.  I don't want her overexerting herself.  She's never been outside of Corus before."

Finally, Atune looked down at the top parchment.  Her eyebrows came together in confusion.  "A Deed?"

"To my lands near Pirate's Swoop.  The money coming in from the coal mines there will be more than enough for you and a family should you ever marry.  His Highness, Prince Roald has offered you a position, here, at the palace.  He would like you to tutor the young Prince.  You may choose to live where you please, the lands are yours."

Atune looked disbelieving.  She held up the parchments.  "Lands?"

A ghost of a smile fell across his lips; it didn't sit well with his sunken eyes.  "You are a lady, after all, Atune.  You deserve more."

Atune, still in utter confusion looked from the parchment to him various times.  She swallowed and licked her lips.  "Where in Carthak will you go?"

"South of the Capital, a city called Kilbao.  I spoke to the Empress before she left, and she, with the Emperor's consent, has offered me Regent Mage."

Atune's face scrunched up in slight annoyance.  "You are to take Jade, away from her friends and family, away from all she's ever known, and take her somewhere far off and distant, where you are to be busy with your new position as regent mage, a demanding position, may I add, and leave her alone in the world?"

He was slightly taken aback, he hadn't expected her to be upset, and the uncertainty that seemed to follow her like a shadow lately was no where to be seen.  Then his own face contorted into one of anger.  "She won't be alone, Atune.  I will be there, I am her family.  She has no family here."

"Their Majesties care for  her, Onua, the Baron, the Lioness, Amena, the Cassidy's, Eleni, Myles; the hall servants adore her, her friends Gregory, Sonya, Lily and Fastion, they all care for her! They would all miss her terribly, and she would miss them.  She doesn't need to be taken _away from all this, Numair, she needs to embrace it and be reassured by it.  She needs to be with people she knows and trusts!  How is she to heal if she cannot lean on anyone?"_

"She has _me!"_

"She doesn't have you, Numair!  She's lost you!  Just as she's lost her mother!"

It was as if she'd gone and punched him in the face.  His eyes widened and he took a step back.  He hadn't been prepared to talk about this.

"You treat her as if she doesn't even exists, Numair! She looks to you every morning, hoping to see the father she once had, and is constantly disappointed.  You think your relationship with her is all right.  You think you ignore everyone else but her.  But your **not**!  The only one you're ignoring is _her! You hurt her more and more everyday when you walk past her and lightly pat her on the __head!"  She spat out the words with unrestrained anger.  "You think I don't see.  You think I haven't noticed because I've been locked up in my room.  But I _do_ see.  I see how she'll sit, with nothing to do for hours on end, waiting for you to come out of your study.  When you finally __do, she'll jump up to greet you and you'll kiss her on the forehead and walk away, _no_ words, __no smiles!  I know you're in pain, Numair.  I know I can't understand that pain.  But I can understand what you're doing, intentional or not. You're **killing** her!"  She took a deep breath to calm herself and looked to the floor._

He was leaning back onto his desk, his hands reaching behind him and gripping the edge with white knuckles to keep him standing.  He was ready to collapse, his eyes staring hard and registering painful shock at her last words.  "What do you suggest?" It was whispered hard and angry.  "That I stay here; stay here where I can't live, where I have to sleep in the same bed she slept in.  I'm leaving for that reason, Atune.  I can't be a good father to Jade if I stay here.  I can't.  The memories are too much.  And yes!  She has friends here! Once that care and love her!  But she also has people who hate and fear her unreasonably.  These people hate her, Atune!  They want to take her to the City of the God's and _burn_ the evil out of her!  Do I keep her here, where she will always be surrounded by them? Always live in fear of them?"

Atune sighed.  He had a point, a good point at that, and she knew it.  Truth be told, she had expected Numair and Daine to have left Corus years ago, but they had stayed, sure that Jade would be safe within the castle walls.  Recent events proved otherwise.

Her shoulders sagged slightly and she peered back down at the documents in her hands.  He was giving her his lands here in Tortall.  She'd never been to his tower, but she had been told that the coal mines there produced a good amount of income and the place was well kept and managed.  She was to have lands, something she would _never have had in Scanra; not ever.  She didn't even have to live at the tower if she didn't want too.  She could just manage it from here, as Numair had done for so many years.  And being offered the position of Royal Tutor; that was indeed a high honor, it would make her instructors at her old convent extremely proud.  The fact that the King had already welcomed her to Tortall, albeit as a refugee, with a promise of fully recognizing her birth title, was almost too good to be true.  She'd be set for life, no questions.  She was being given so much, it was incredible._

            She lifted her eyes to look at him, but instead, by some will of the Gods, they landed behind him, on a small painted portrait of Jade on her 8th birthday.  It had been painted not to long ago.  She looked back down at the documents and then smiled sadly.  She reached her hand out with them, offering them back.  "They are truly a wonderful gift, but I cannot accept them."  Numair looked startled for a moment, and then reluctantly reached for them.  "I cannot abandon Jade."

            "Atune…"

            "Would it be rude of me to ask you to take me with you?"

            "What?" He was shocked.

            "I love Jade, Numair.  Daine was like a sister to me…I can't just leave Jade.  Not now, not when she will need a friend."

            He looked extremely reluctant.  "You are already so far away from your home, Atune…"

            "Scanra is not my home anymore, Numair.  It has been nearly a year since I've heard from my family, I've accepted that lose.  And really, this is not my home either.  My home is Jade.  Jade, Daine and you have been my home for almost three years now.  I feel the pain just as you do."

            Numair sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  "You would come to Carthak with us?"

            Atune smiled.  "Of coarse I would."

            *****

            She stood in the pitch dark against her door looking at the mess she'd made.  Night terrors of white ice so cold it sliced through her skin and blood dripping from lips whispering last words to her had chocked her awake.  She'd opened her eyes and bolted into a sitting position only to be surprised when she pushed into a barrier of some sort.  When she finally adjusted her eyes to the dark, she felt around and realized she'd grown vines all around and _through _her bed.  She'd untangled herself and crawled out of bed.  Kitten continued to sleep curled up in the mess of sheets at the bottom of the bed.

            She wasn't sure what to do.  Not to long ago, she would have gone to her parent's bed, but with her father being the way he was now, she was reluctant to go.  So that had left Atune as an option.  But, as Jade had discovered not to long ago, Atune now bolted her room door at night, something she hadn't done before.  So it left her thinking she's just sit out the night, maybe sleep in the chair.  That had lasted all of ten minutes.  The cold draft in the room had started to cool her skin and Jade wasn't having any of that.  So her reluctance to go to her father's room was overcome quickly enough.  She peeked in and saw he lay on his stomach on top of the sheets.  He was still completely dressed, boots and all, which told her he had probably worked until he could no longer stay awake.  She tiptoed up to him, starting to get uncomfortable with the cold draft that was making her shiver.  She needed to get warm soon or she'd scream.  "Papa?"

            She'd said it softly, so not to surprise him, but his head bolted up so quickly she squeaked and backed up.  He blinked a few times in confusion and then looked at her.  "Jade? What's the matter?"

            She licked her lips and looked down at her hand which was pulling on the hem of her nightshirt.  "Umm, I…I had a night terror and…and well, my bed's…there's vines through my bed now."

            "Oh."  He started to push himself up.

            "Atune's room is locked; I can't go in there to sleep.  Can I just sleep here with you?"

            He seemed to think about it for a moment, and then nodded.  He reached over and lifted her up, placing her on the other side of the bed, where her mother used to sleep.  Jade froze as she sat there, running shaking fingers over the soft satin sheet, Numair pulling the bed sheets down.  It was a desperate attempt, she knew the second the words came out of her mouth.  But she had to try, because she missed him, missed him more than she missed her mother, because while her mother was gone forever, and Jade _missed her with an intensity that made her want to die, she missed her father more because he was right in front of her, within arms reach, and she couldn't have him.  "It's alright, you know."_

            She'd caught him off guard; he lifted his eyes to her.  "What's alright, sweetling?"

            And maybe it was that term of endearment that gave her the strength to tell him the truth, to tell him she understood; she wasn't angry with him, she'd accepted it.  "I know you don't like looking at me."  She peeked up from where her eyes were fixed.  He didn't say a word, just stared at her with a look of amazement.  She looked back down and finished.  "I know I make you think of Mama and you don't like that."  She heaved a great sigh and was glad she'd gotten it over with, told him he didn't have to feel bad about it anymore.

            The silence was starting to worry her, he was just sitting there, staring hard at her, trying to figure something out it seemed.  His mouth opened and closed a few times, and only cut off words seem to come out.  "Yo…I…wh…."  And then he clamped his mouth shut and his eyebrows drew together in serious concentration, before he set his shoulders and seemed to come back to himself.  "Come here, Jade."  She was about to lift her head up to ask what he meant, when strong hands placed under her arms lifted her up and pulled her up to her knees so that she was directly in front of his face.  He was staring hard at her, his brows scrunched in determination, and his gaze held hers easily.  And then he said something that made her rethink everything she'd though for the last six weeks.  "Nothing in this realm could ever happen, nothing you have or will ever _do, no one in this world, whether I love them or hate them, will **ever** make me stop loving you.  And **nothing in this realm will ever make me not want to look at you."  With that he held her head with his hands and asked, "Do you understand me?"**_

            "But…you never look at me anymore.  You always walk away from me."

            He closed his eyes and sighed.  "I know.  I'm sorry, Jade.  I haven't been a good father lately.  But you have to know, I do look at you, all the time.  You just don't see me.  I look at you when you sleep, mostly."  He took a deep breath.  "I've been afraid to look or talk to you while you're awake because I haven't been able to talk about what we need to talk about."

            And then she understood, because she hadn't wanted to talk about it either.  So, doing something that, though she wasn't aware of it, was much more mature than her age normally allowed, she decided to save him the pain of going first.  "I miss her."

            She said it as no more than a tiny whisper of admission, her face so incredibly sad it hurt to look at.  Numair's face contorted in sorrow and understanding.  "I know, sweetling."  He ran his palm down her hair.

            And to her horror, Jade felt tears sting the back of her eyes.  In a tiny whimper lased with tears, she admitted, "I miss her so much, papa."  She clamped down on her tears, but she felt herself trembling.  She clenched her eyes shut and her chin trembled.  And the next think she felt were her father's arms pulling her against his chest.  She reached her small arms around him and held on for dear life, letting at least _some_ of the pain drain out of her.  He pulled her across his lap and cradled her tiny shivering form in his arms apologizing to her until she fell into a deep sleep, her head resting against his heart, unconsciously lulled by its steady rhythm.  He was curiously amazed when tiny purple buds and tiny green leaves began to bloom out of his wooden headboard.

*****

            "I really had hoped you'd reconsider leaving, Numair."  King Jonathan walked down the resident corridors along side the taller man, clearly displeased.

            Numair was reading through some final documents as he listened and walked.  "It's necessary Jon, you should see that."

            "I don't see that!"  He sighed.  "You're one of my most valuable Mages."  He rolled his eyes.  "I might as well stroke your ego and tell you the truth; you _are_ my most valuable Mage."

            Numair gave a lopsided grin and looked up at him.  "I'm still your subject, Jon.  I promise, should you ever need me, I will come and help.  I just cannot live here, and neither can Jade."

            "You both seemed to be doing much better lately.  I was hoping that the memories wouldn't haunt you so, anymore.  I'd thought they may have even started to comfort you."

            "They are a comfort, at times.  But more often than not, they aren't.  Especially for Jade."  They walked in silence as Numair finished the last few lines and nodded.  He handed them to him.  "These are all good to go.  That should be the last of it."  They stopped outside Numair's suite, its door open and various young servant boys ran in and out with luggage and books and other belongings.

            The king turned to him.  "Numair, I give you my word, Jade is safe here at the palace, I assure you."

            "Like her mother?"  It came out hard, but Numair sighed and looked suddenly worried.  "I'm sorry Jon."

            "It's alright, old friend."

            "Look, they came and stormed the castle, they murdered her and others.  Who ever he is, he knew were to find Daine.  And now he knows Jade is here.  He recognized her!"  The last was said with desperation.

            "Are you so sure?"

            "Atune assures me it's true; I take her word as truth.  And for some reason I can't explain, Jade recognized him as well."  He seemed to be desperate for a small respite.  "She's not safe here in Tortall.  He didn't know she was here until they attacked.  Now he knows.  I don't think he'll just stay away."

            "She's not safe _here_, in Tortall? But she _is safe in Carthak?"_

            "I'll have guards and plenty of security measures there; with a promise from Kalasin of help should we ever need it."  He looked into the room and sighed.  "And while I seem to have sweeter memories of the palace, Jade has had too many foul ones.  She needs to start over."

            Jonathan nodded and sighed.  "I see.  I do hope one day you will return, Numair.  With Jade.  We all care for her; all want the best for her."  After a moment of silence, Jon straightened and said in a commanding voice.  "I want regular reports, Numair.  I'm serious."

            Numair gave a mocking look of shock.  "You'd think I'd only been working for you for a few weeks by the sounds of that, you Majesty."

            Jon laughed, and then quickly sobered.  "I am serious.  I want to know what is going on down there.  You'll have better access to the rebel army.  I want your full attention on that, understood?"

            "Of course," Numair said seriously.  They stepped into the now vastly empty suite.

*****

            Atune stepped into Jade's room, her heavy traveling skirts and cloaks securely in place.  The dark blue cotton dress matched her eyes beautifully.  "Ready?"

            Jade placed her last doll into a heavy traveling chest, reached back and swung the lid over, locking the bolts in place.  She stood up straight and turned to her, uncrumpling her own traveling skirt.  She nodded silently, a subdued expression upon her face, quite unusual for an eight-year-old.  Atune inspected her.  The dark green dress had been a present from Onua.  In respect for the departed, tradition required Jade to be wearing dark colored conservative dresses of mourning for a full year after her mother's death.   She'd had a limited supply not to long ago, consisting of formal dresses for parties.  Atune and Onua had seen to it that she have a larger collection for the long year ahead.  This one was made of heavy cotton, for traveling.  It had snug long sleeves and a bodice that pointed in front and back.  Its long skirts reached the ground and flowed surprisingly well.  It was really quite a simple dress, only some pretty green ivy stitching decorating the waistline.  It was very comfortable, perfect for traveling.  Atune had pulled a portion of Jade's full curly locks back out of her face with a green ribbon.  Onua had also supplied soft green traveling boots and soft green cloth gloves for Jade to match the dress.

            Jade pulled on the pretty gloves as Atune fastened her small cloak in place, pulling her freshly washed hair from under the neckline, silently noticing the claw necklace tied around her neck.  She turned her around to get a good look and smiled softly.  Jade's color had dramatically lightened over the winter.  With the added stress, she'd paled dramatically.  Her normally dark tanned Carthaki skin was almost as pale as her own Scanran skin.  Her locks of black hair were an impressive counter-shade to it.  Jade looked, and Atune almost giggled at the thought, like a precious little porcelain doll.  Atune smiled as Kitten, who sat in the corner waiting looked at Jade with a curious expression.  "Did you say good-bye to the servants?"  Jade nodded.  "Onua?

            "Last night."

            "Their Majesties?"

            "This morning."

            "Amena?"

            "She's coming to say goodbye."

            "Anyone else?"

            "No. I got everyone," she lied.

            Atune nodded.  "Good."  She stood with a sigh.  "Ready?"

            "No."

            An understanding smile.  "Me neither."  She took Jade's hand and they walked out of her room.  A boy walked by.  "Last chest is in there."  He nodded.  They walked to the entrance of the suite and turned one last time, Kitten now a soft melancholy blue.

            Jade looked at the home she'd always known.  In the corner, she imagined her father reaching for a book on the shelf as her mother played with Kitten on the cushioned seats; Atune sat at an imagined table, writing letters with a smile and Jade imagined herself and Amena on the floor, Amena desperately trying to teach her chess.  She blinked and the images faded.  She lowered her head and left with Atune holding her hand, memories fading with every step.

*****

            The courtyard was extremely busy.  Spring was finally arriving; and though it was still dramatically cold, the snow had melted and servants, guards, pages, squires, knights and even nobles walked around enjoying the fresh spring air.  Atune walked with Jade in hand towards the front courtyard, Kitten bounding behind them.  They reached the carriage and horses gathered for the trip and Jade looked around.  There were four guards accompanying them to Port Legann where they would catch the boat to Carthak.  Her father would ride his own tall horse for a good part of the journey, claiming he'd have enough time to sit around on the offal ship.  A carriage for Atune and herself waited as did a storage cart for all the things they were taking with them to Carthak.

            Some friends came to say good-bye, including Roaul and Onua, the Cassidy's and even Gregory, who was sporting yet another black-eye, came to say good-bye.  Jade smiled softly at him, still completely depressed.  "Thank you for coming to see me off, Gregory."

            He'd grown over the last year or so, at least a foot.  At age 10, it was becoming apparent he would be a tall person.  He kicked at the ground with hands in pockets, clearly unhappy.  "I hope you come back some day."  He mumbled the words, making it near impossible for Jade to understand him.

            "Maybe."  She didn't really have a better answer.  They stood there for a moment, and Jade bit her lip.  "I'll miss you."

            The next moment, quick as can be, Gregory leaned in to her and kissed her lips.  It was quick and Jade hardly had time to register his warm lips before Gregory turned and ran for all he was worth back into the palace to continue his errands.  She stood there, face red, eyes wide in surprise, stock still.  She looked around, and sighed when it seemed no one had seen.  This was something she didn't want to get teased about.

*****

            Not to far away, Onua clapped Numair on the back, laughing at his facial expression.  "You'll be beating them away with a horse's crop!" She laughed.

            They'd seen the innocent and chased kiss Gregory had planted on Jade, and Numair had been utterly shocked.  "If we weren't leaving," he grumbled irritably, "I'd have a chat with that boy."  He continued adjusting his horse's stirrups.  "She's too young for boys to be kissing her."  Onua's smile widened and she snickered.

*****

            They were ready to go, ready to leave Corus and their home.  Jade turned and was surprised to almost run into Amena, who, in her everyday school tunic and breeches and heavy cloak, was slightly out of breath.  "I'm sorry, Jade.  I had to run up here from school."

            "It's alright."

            They stood in front of each other, silent for endless moments.  Amena was first to break the silence.  "Write to me every week?"

            Jade looked up and, with half a grin, nodded.  "As long as you promise to write back every week."

            "Promise."

            Again, silence reigned, and this time, it was Jade who broke the silence.  "Best Friends?"

            Amena looked up in surprise.  After a moment of thought, she reached for her small dagger and, holding it carefully, made a long cut on her palm.  Jade starred with mouth agape.  Then, Amena took her hand, pulled off the green cloth glove, turned it around and looked up at her.  With Jade's small nod, Amena again, carefully made a cut on Jade's hand.   Jade grimaced slightly.  Amena gave a great heaving sigh and held her hand up.  Jade lifted her own hand and they both took hold of each other, blood mingling through their interlaced fingers.  Both girls were slightly surprised to see a greenish glow tinge the dark red blood.  Amena smiled confidently.  "…for life."  They both leaned forward and wrapped arms around each other with great force.

****

            The coach driver took hold of Jade's hand and helped her step inside.  It was dark and small, but the cushioned seats were comfortable enough.  She sat next to the opposite door, peering out the small window.  She could see straight out to the side walls, behind which were the horse pastures.  She hadn't said good-bye to everyone here, despite what she had told Atune.  She hadn't said good-bye to one very important person, but she couldn't bring herself to go and seek her out.  Her mother had been buried almost three months ago in those pastures beyond the courtyard wall, and Jade hadn't gone once to her burial site.  Atune was helped in then, and she sat across from Jade near the small door they had entered.  "Just about ready to go."

            Jade nodded, still peering out the window.  Kitten bounded into the small compartment and jumped up onto the seat cushion next to Jade.  She struggled around a few seconds before finally settling down, her long and slender head resting on her skirts.  Jade ran a hand down the dragonet's body, stoking gently, her eyes still outside the window.  The door closed and then they were slightly jerked around as the carriage began to move.  A few moments later, they were out the palace main gates and going down Corus' main street towards the city's southern edge.  Jade watched as familiar landmarks began to pass by, biting her lips in nervousness.  Atune gazed at Jade with a sad smile of concern.  "I'm sure you'll love Carthak, Jade."  The only response the girl gave was a small nod.  "You'll come back some day, don't worry."  Jade sighed and they fell into silence once again.

            Not to much a while later they reached the city gates, and Jade peered outside once again.  She'd never been outside Corus, always had wanted to see more.  Now she regretted ever wanting that.  She wanted to go home.  When they passed through the gates and reached a long stretch of road, the horseman sped up slightly, making the carriage rock more.  Jade sighed and leaned back into the cushioned seat.

            It came out as not even a whisper, just a breath, Atune never hearing a sound.  It was sad and carried a note of regret.  She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh.  "Bye, Mama."

****

Ok. Review Review Review.  Tell me what you think.  Next chapter will be about arriving in Carthak!

Kar


	25. Meeting Kilbao

            OK ~ Next chapter is up. 

            For the Dream sequence…you may have to backtrack and remember a certain lullaby sung by our fallen heroin.  It may make more sense.  Also, it's a mix of past present and future…so it supposed to be a bit confusing.  Have fun!

Also: I'd like to thank everyone who has been reviewing and helping me.  Thanks so much.  You all rock!

*****

Uncontrollable

By: Karigan Marie

Chapter: Meeting Kilbao

*****

            She'd undoubtedly inherited her father's sea legs, or lack there of.  She'd been sick more times than she cared to even think about.  Curled up on the small bed in the room she had been sharing with Atune for the five day journey across the inland sea, Jade felt more bile rise in her throat at the slightest sway of the grand ship.  The only thought that ran through her head was the countdown of how many more endless days she would have to be on the nauseating wreck.

            The door opened with a loud crick and her father stepped through, having to duck his head in order to get in.  He held a plate of what appeared to be food and a glass.  He sat next to her on the bed with a regretful smile.  Putting the plate and cup down he reached for her hands.  She offered them to him and he pulled her into a sitting position with a dramatic grunt.  Her legs, tangled in her dress, hung over the side.  "Some crackers will help settle your stomach."  She reached for one and nibbled at it, the dry taste making her sneer in distaste.  He laughed.  "You'd rather eat squid like the rest of the crew?"

            She looked at him in utter disgust and felt herself turn another shade of green.  "Ewe, Papa…"

            He smiled.  "It's almost over; you'll feel one hundred percent better when we get off this thing."  He looked around with furrowed eyebrows.  "I'll admit I never was one to like the steady rocking motion myself.  It's not very comforting."

            "How much longer?"  
            He looked at her sympathetically.  "Two days more, sweetling."  He smiled at her.  "Other than your personal argument with the waves, what do you think of the sea?"

            She shrugged.  "It's boring."

            "Boring?" His eyes were wide with surprise.  "There is much to be seen out there, sweetling.  Many animals I think you might actually enjoy seeing."

            She sighed.  Her father had never really grasped onto the concept that she wasn't all that interested in animals.  The only animal she _liked was Kitten, and that was questionable at times, the little dragonets moods were erratic and unpredictable.  Her mother had never been at all disappointed with that little detail, in fact, she had always been incredibly supportive of her; it made Jade wonder sometimes.  Her father, though not at all unsupportive, seemed to be under the impression that she couldn't get enough of wild life.  The occasional new creature sparked interest in her, yes, but really, it was far from a fascination.  She smiled, she had too.  He was always trying so hard.  "How much longer until we reach Kilbao once we reach Carthak?"_

            He thought for a moment.  "I'm thinking three days more."

            She nodded.  "What will we do when we get there?"

            "Well…" he shifted and leaned back against the wooden wall.  "We'll get settled in first, I imagine.  You can take a look around, there's going to be plenty of land for it.  It's not a large city by any means.  It's hardly bigger than a town, and not nearly as crowded.  It's mostly a horse breeding community.  Some of the best thoroughbreds come out of Kilbao."              She sighed and grinned.  It was inevitable.  "I'll hire someone to teach you to ride; I'd do it myself, but I was never a graceful rider, you wouldn't learn much from me.  Atune can teach you how to ride side-saddle."

            That stopped her short.  She sat up straight and gave him a look of consternation.  "Side-saddle?"  It came out with a tone of incredulity and annoyance.  "Why do I have to learn how to ride side-saddle?"

            Numair grinned patiently.  "It's necessary, Jade.  You're a girl.  Girls ride side-saddle on occasion."

            "Not in Tortall!"  She was desperate now.  "Papa, none of the girls have to ride side-saddle in Tortall.  It's not fair!"  The word 'side-saddle' came out with a twinge of disgust every time it left her lips, and she was almost ashamed of her whining.

            Almost.

            A grin spread across Numair's face and he chuckled softly.  "Jade, I understand.  I do.  In Tortall, women can ride the way they choose, but not in many other kingdoms.  You want to become a mage don't you?"

            "What does that have to do with anything?"

            He sighed.  "Jade, mages often have to travel for the state.  As Atune can attest to herself, in some Kingdoms, such as Scanra, it is considered…" he struggled for a word to use, "…indecent…for women to ride like men.  As a representative of Tortall, you will have to be respectful of their customs.  Sometimes, that respectfulness will require you to adjust to certain traditions; and more often than not, for you, as a woman, it means having to act like a lady, or at least, _their_ version of a lady.  I guarantee you, you're better off learning side-saddle now instead of years from now.  You'll thank me later."

            She sunk back against the side wall, crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled in annoyance.  "No I won't."  Her eyebrows were scrunched together and her stubborn jaw set in defiance.

*****

            The heavy plank slammed into the dock and ropes were being thrown and tied at strategic locations on the ship.  Jade was _dieing to get off the massive pile of wood, practically running ahead of her father and Atune.  The sun was beating down with a force she'd never even known before, making sweat break out on her neck.  Her long sleeved green cotton dress she'd left Tortall in was now much too heavy for the climate; she'd have to put something lighter on when they stopped next.  She could practically drink the water in the air it was so humid and hot._

            Jade couldn't get enough.

            She quickly worked at the three buttons holding her cloak on and shoved it into Atune's arms, Kitten scrambling around to avoid getting stepped on by her or any other person.  "It's so _warm here, Papa!"_

            Numair squinted into the sunlight, using his hand to shield some of it out of his eyes.  He grimaced.  "Hmm.  Yes, I so easily forget how dratted humid it is here.

            Atune looked as if she were about to faint from heat stroke.  "This may require some getting used too.  My Scanran blood may evaporate into the air if I'm not cautious of it."

            "It's wonderful!"  Jade lifted her face to the sun and let it beat down on her paled skin.  For the first time in three months, she didn't feel the freezing chill on her skin.  Couldn't remember what it felt like for her skin to crack and bleed from the cold.  She breathed in deeply and felt nothing but warm.  She was _definitely going to like Carthak, if nothing else, for the heat.  She let her lips turn up at the corners and spun around in circles, arms out, heavy skirts twirling in the light sea breeze, fingertips tingling in warmth._

            Atune stared at Jade with amazement.  The girl looked…free…!  It was the first time since Daine's death that Atune had seen a smile on Jade's face.  And it was a beautiful smile, one of relief and wonder.  Atune glanced at Numair and noticed him staring at her as well.  When Atune looked back at Jade, she got another surprise.  Tiny green sparks were flowing from Jade's fingertips; as she spun and spun they ribboned around her, slowly falling to the deck, where the wood around her feet was turning green with some kind of fuzzy mold.  Atune looked back to Numair.  His brows were scrunched together in curious amazement at Jade's actions, but the smile of utter relief on his face was more than enough to let Atune know what was going through his head.  And Atune had to agree.  It _had been a good idea._

*****

            She's never seen anything like Carthak, it's overall brown and gold hues touched everything.  As the days passed, she saw more and more of the beautifully built villages, every so often peeking through the carriage doors to see the villagers working away.  They were much darker than those of Tortall, most with brown skin, some even with nearly black.  She had looked at Atune and nearly laughed at how different she was compared to these people.  "I think you may be the only person with blonde hair in the country!"

            Atune has smiled and informed her that, no, if fact, she wasn't, but true, they were few and far between.  Jade curiously wondered if she'd see any more blondes for a while.

            *****

            "9 times 3?"

            "27."

            "9 times 6?"

            "54."

            "9 times 9?"

            "Umm…" Jade scrunched her nose up in thought.  "81?"

Atune looked up from the notebook she was attempting to keep record in, the rocking of the carriage making in nearly impossible to accomplish neatly.  "Is that a question or an answer?"

            Jade sighed.  "An answer.  81."

            Atune nodded in satisfaction.  "In arithmetic, don't give an answer unless you're sure it's right.  If you don't know it, figure it out, _then_ say it."

            "What if it's still wrong?"

            "Then we'll figure out why it's wrong, but you should always figure it out on your own first."  Jade nodded and sighed.  "Now, 9 times 7?"

            Jade opened her mouth to answer when a voice came from the small window.  "We're entering Kilbao now."  Her father smiled from his position on his tall horse and then trotted ahead.

            Jade sprung to the edge of her seat and pushed the curtains aside to have a better view.  Atune closed her notebook and set it aside, scooting over to see herself.  They were passing through gates made of sandstone bricks, large and warn.  The wall was a mere 5 feet high.  Its defense was in its double reinforcements.  The outside wall was nearly 5 feet wide, its flat surface held sharp glass razors plastered in place.  The second wall started five feet after the first wall ended, again only five feet high, but it held stone facings for fighters to hide behind and aim arrows at any intruder.  The facings were evenly spaced through out the massive wall, on each a different symbol.

            Jade looked carefully and recognized one as the symbol for Mithros, another for the Graveyard hag, the Goddess of Chaos, Minos, and the Dream God.  Jade stuck her head out the window, and called out.  "Papa?"

            Numair fell back from the front of the line, his features one of question.  "What is it, Jade?"  They were nearly to the entrance, and Numair would have to go back up front soon.

            Jade pointed towards the facings.  "Do those go all the way around Kilbao?"

            He looked towards where she pointed.  "The guardian ranks?  Yes, they go around the entire city."

            "Is there a God or Goddess on each one?"

            He nodded.  "One for every God and Goddess, each one is different.  There are some open ranks, for future Gods and Goddess'."

            Jade looked at them again and then turned to him with a look of amazement.  "Are Grandda and Grandma on there?"

            Numair smiled.  "As a matter of fact, they are.  Your grandfather's been up there for some time, since before I was a boy.  Your grandmother's symbol was put up only a few years ago."

            "Can we go and see them?"

            Numair smiled.  "Once we get settled in, we'll go looking for them."

            Jade smiled and pulled her head back into the carriage.

            "Atune, why are there two walls?"

            Atune looked her way.  She had scooted to the other side of the carriage peering out in curiosity.  "Some cities use double walls for protective measures.  The space between can be set with traps and gates.  If you look around, you'll probably see great melting caldrons on top of the inner walls.  If the city were to be attacked, they would quickly heat up great amounts of oil in them.  At the right moment, they would pour them into strategically placed tunnels in the wall.  The boiling oil will go down the holes and shoot out at eye level with anyone in between the two walls."

            Jade stared at Atune with wide eyes.  "Oh."

            Atune smile.  "They don't use them anymore."

            That seemed to relax the girl, and turned back to the window.  "Oh.  Good."  Atune smiled.

            "Not often, anyways."  Jade spun around, eyes nearly coming out of her head.  Atune smiled wickedly.

*****

            She thought it would be somewhat like Corus.  It was a city, after all.  Or so she thought.  Truth was, there were more horses than people.  Teenage girls and boys walked the massive fields watching over the stock.  Every so often, they would pass a group of homes or housing barns.  Jade, who had been peering out in curiosity began to notice the people looking at the carriage, their own curiosity taking hold.  Children ran along the road pointing and yelling.  Women, carrying stacks of hay on their backs huddled together, their heads turned towards the passing riders.  Jade found herself pulling back from the window, hiding her face in the corner.  Atune smiled at her.  "They're just curious."

            Jade leaned back against the seat, hiding her face in the shadows.  "Why?" She was starting to get nervous at all the stares.

            Atune picked her notebook up and flipped through some pages.  "Your father is Regent Mage, Jade.  He's now responsible for the safety of many people.  They know this.  They've been informed, I'm sure.  It's only natural that they should be inquisitive."

            Jade grumbled.  "What's inquisitive mean?"

            Atune's eyes lifted from the book, her head stayed down.  "Questioning."  Her eyes went back to the page; her dissatisfaction in Jade's behavior becoming more obvious.

            "Oh."  She slumped down on the seat even further.  "So why are they staring at the carriage.  Papa's out there on the horse."

            Atune sighed, placed her notebook down slightly and looked at her with a look of reproof.  "How is it _you are the only one allowed to be curious about others, Jade?  You've been sitting here for the last half hour staring at everything we pass.  Curiosity is natural.  There's nothing wrong with it."  She shook her head and blinked.  "Well, until you get intrusive.  But generally…it's completely innocent.  Honestly Jade, you think the entire realm resolves around you.  They aren't staring at you because they want to be malicious.  They've never seen you before.  Stop being paranoid and try to develop something I like to call optimism._

            Jade tried to disappear into seat, her arms crossed over her chest, her head down, curls covering her face.

            Atune rolled her eyes and continued to look over her notes.

*****

            He swung his leg over his tall brown gelding and slid the ground with a large sigh.  A man walked up to him and quickly took the warn travel cloak from his hand.  "Thank you."  The toothy man smiled in return and backed away.  Numair glanced up at the massive country home and sighed.  It was quite ornate.

            "We are glad you made it safely."  Numair turned to see a tall, extremely dark man walking towards him.  He wore bright blue robes and an assortment of large rings on his fingers.  His smile revealed bright white teeth that reflected his skin extraordinarily well.

            Numair smiled.  "Lord Jabari Salim, I imagine."

            "He I am."  Both men extended their arms and shook them in greeting.  "I hope that your journey here was not too unpleasant."

            "It was fine weather throughout.  No trouble whatsoever, my Lord."

            "I am glad to hear.  Come, come.  Welcome to Kilbao.  We have been much anticipating your arrival.  As Lord-Governor of this prosperous city, I am only too honored to tell you how much we are in need of such a capable mage."

            Numair smiled.  "You seem to have done just fine without me for some time, my Lord."

            "Ah.  I myself have the gift.  But in very limited amounts, not useful for the protection of the city.  I have done what I can, but with my duties I can hardly spare a moment.  I am much relieved you have come to serve my people."  Through the small property gates, two Carthaki soldiers followed by two carriages entered.  "Ah, I see the rest of your party has arrived."

            Numair turned with him as they walked to meet the carriage.  "Yes. I am of course happy to help the city stay safe; but you must remember, I am also here on business from The Capital as well as from Tortall."

            "Yes. Yes, of course."  Jabari placed his large hand on Numair's shoulder.  "Come, come.  Let us meet this young daughter of yours."  Various servants ran around, some heading towards the cart with personal belongings in them, and others lined up in front of the carriage to meet the occupants.

            Numair turned to the servants.  "I am Master Numair Salmalin."  All the servants bowed or curtsied respectively.  He turned to the Carriage, now stopped and opened the door.  Reaching in, he gave an encouraging smile and took Jade's hand.  He helped her step down to the ground where she swallowed nervously and had a hard time finding something to do with her hands.  "This…" he said, reaching down and lifting her chin gently with his hand.  "…is my daughter, Jade Salmalin."  Some of the servants flinched slightly as her green eyes reflected brilliantly against the blazing sun, but they too, along with the other servants, bowed to the little girl.

            Numair reached back in and helped Atune step out.  "This is Lady Atune of the Masson lands in Scanra.  She is my daughter's tutor."  All the servants, including Jabari bowed this time.

            "So this is the small jewel we have been told about."  Jabari stepped up to Jade and leaned down slightly, inspecting her with pitch black eyes.  She wore a dark blue summer dress, the sleeves, which were made of satin, flowed easily in the wind, and came down only to her elbows.  Its bodice came down to just below her chest and flowed into a long skirt.  It looked like a doll's dress, conservative yet very pretty.  Jabari noted the paleness of her skin and determined the girl was much lighter than she should be.  Her father was Carthaki after all, and there was no doubt the girl carried Carthaki blood; while her eyes were a startling bright green, they were slightly slanted and lined with coal black eyelashes and eyebrows, her skin showed promises of a naturally tanned complexion, and her hair, well, the girl had nearly black hair, much like her fathers.

            Jabari had always favored Carthaki beauties as apposed to Northern beauties, a personal opinion, there just wasn't anything more beautiful than a Carthaki desert flower, but he had always been able to appreciate beauty when he saw it.    The Lady Atune was a fine show of female grace and poise.  She was extraordinarily pretty.  But Jabari couldn't help but keep his high opinion of the Carthaki blood.  The small girl, while having a Northern look to her, especially with that stubborn chin, had a distinct Carthaki look to her.  The mix often times had an ill affect on some women, giving them a muddled look.  There were exceptions, of course.  He'd gone up to the Capital only last year and had gotten a look at the young Princess.  Kaddar's daughter was unquestionably taking after her mother's amazing beauty.  Jabari even guessed she would be more beautiful than her mother, her mixed heritage bringing out the best traits of both blood lines.  This girl's Carthaki beauty was only emphasized more by her Northern looks. Jabari was pleasantly surprised to foretell she would one day be extremely pretty and highly sought after by men.  He smiled at her and then looked to Numair.  "She is a pretty thing.  I must only assume such beauty was given to her by her mother."

            Numair looked at Jade, who had turned pink, and smiled at her with soft tenderness.  "Indeed.  She's very much her mother's daughter."  Jade's face tuned red to the roots.

            Jabari smiled.  A man who had been much in love.  A pity the wife passed on, he thought.  She must have been very pretty.  "And you!"  He turned to Atune.  "…My lady, we are most honored to have such a beautiful rose among our humble city."  Atune smiled politely.  "You are being much too generous with your praises towards me."

            "I swear, I am not."  He smiled.  "Many a young man around here would risk his life to bring you a white rose from the bottom of the cliffs of Orleon just to win your favor."

            Atune smiled.  "To risk one's life so needlessly would not win me over, my lord.  That he should have the common sense _not_ to risk his life for such a silly quest would better soot my favor."

            Jabari stood straight and laughed heartedly.  "You have a witty one here, Master Numair."

            Numair smiled.  "That she is."

            Jabari bowed to Atune once again.  "I will most definitely be looking forward to speaking to you further.  Atune curtsied and smiled.  Jabari turned to Numair.  "Well, I will be leaving you to see your new home, you must be very curious."  He directed the last comment towards Jade.  She smiled shyly.

            "I appreciate you meeting us, my lord."  They shook arms again and Jabari and his small group of servants mounted their horses and rode off.

*****

            She clung to her father's hand as they walked through the doorways made of beautiful darkwood.  Her jaw dropped as she looked around her.  They were merely in the entrance way to their new home and Jade had never seen anything like it.  The walls were intricately designed with ceramic tiles of many different colors.  They had designs that reached from floor to ceiling, coiling and mixing beautifully.  The ceiling arched up, blue and gold ribs giving them vast space.  It was shocking.  "Wow…"  It came out her mouth in utter disbelief, echoing off the tiled walls.

            Numair smiled.  Well, it's not the Palace by any means, but it is rather nice."

            Jade walked to the wall, her arm pulling on her father's hand.  She ran fingers over the mosaic with curious fingers.  "It's so pretty, Papa."

            "You haven't even seen the rest of the place, Jade."  He laughed, the deep tone ringing off the walls, making Jade's face light up in wonder.

            "Master Salmalin."  The rich voice came from an entrance way to their right.  It belonged to a women who looked slightly older than her father.  She wore a very conservative Carthaki dress with her hair pulled back in a tight knot, a few white streaks running through it.  "I am Messina.  The housekeeper."  She bowed slightly.  "Welcome.  I am pleased to meet you."  She smiled tightly.  She bowed to Atune and then turned to Jade.  "This must be the little Miss."  Jade backed up and shyly hid herself halfway behind her father.

            Numair smiled.  "You may have to be somewhat patient with Jade.  She is very shy of strangers."

            The woman smiled, it didn't soot her well at all.  She turned around and quickly began to walk into the hall.  "I'll be happy to show you the rest of your home."  Numair looked towards Atune, whose eyebrows were arched.  She shrugged at him and they quickly followed, Jade straggling along, her hand still in her father's hand.

*****

;a;a;a;a;a;a;

            Soft words sung in her mind, the melody soft and sweet, the voice deep and loving.  Each word rung softly in her mind, echoing out through her subconscious ~ 

~I am here now~

~Have no fear now~

~I will keep you safe until the dawn~

            The last word, so pretty and tender stretched out into her mind, reaching past time, reaching into her memories until the word formed its own precious image of gray blue eyes sparkling with reassurance and protectiveness.  She could feel the soft blanket of those eyes, forever warm and soft, wrapping around her to chase away any possible chill.

            And then the sweet song sharpened into a scream that pierced her ears.  And the gray blue eyes turned ice cold with death and surprise, and she could feel warm blood on her fingers, could feel the ice begin to surround her heart.  And that sweet voice which had been so assuring was now strained and rushed, desperate to get out the words.

~Don't be afraid~

            And she felt the ice rip away at her skin, felt the hard surface of pure white burn through her eyes, saw everything in her life falling apart, her past, her present, her future, breaking away and sinking into the freezing water, never to be seen again.

            And the gray blue eyes disappeared and she looked into a pair of dark brown eyes, brown eyes that could see inside her, could break her, could take everything away from her again. Everything she'd ever worked for, everything she'd fought for, he could take away again.  All those bottomless brown eyes had to do was look at her, and she'd fall, she'd let go and surrender.  Because she didn't have anything if she didn't have this.  She'd give everything up.  Everything.  If she could keep this.  And an absurd thought crossed her mind.  'The Pips had been right, it _was_ her greatest weakness.'

            She'd never been more afraid in her life, not even with the ice.  It made the decision that much easier.  She felt the pull…and then she felt empty.

;a;a;a;a;;a;a;aa;

*****

            Jade's eyes snapped open in the dark.  Her breath came fast an uneven.  She'd been curled up on her side, the soft silk sheets bunched under and around her.  The warm night hair cooling her sweating neck.

            Her new room was twice the size of the one she'd had at the Palace.  Strewn around were various chests and bags, opened with various possessions placed about.  The oil lamp on her nightstand had blown out and the soft curtains that flouted around in the night air fluttered prettily, the full moon shinning down and glowing on their whiteness.

            "Papa!" She really wasn't aware why she screamed his name.  She wasn't all that frightened by the dream.  Honestly, she was more afraid what she'd done to the room.  In the dark, she really couldn't tell.  "Papa!"  She sat up, her satin nightgown wrinkled from her movements during the night.  "Papa!"  She heard footsteps and a few voices, then her door opened and a bright glow made her shield her eyes.

            Numair pushed through the doors, oil lamp in hand.  "Jade? What's the matter?"  He walked to her side and sat on the bed.  "You're sweating, Jade.  Did you have a night terror?"  He smoothed some damp curls out of her face.

            "Sort of."  She breathed easier and looked around, trying to locate the damage she'd done.

            The housekeeper, Messina and Atune quickly walked in then.  "What in the God's name is all the noise?" the older woman said sternly.

            Amena dived in.  "I'm sorry for the sudden awakening.  Jade sometimes has trouble sleeping lately."

            The old woman sniffed and said in a grumpy voice, "a few nights left screaming on her own and she'll learn soon enough how far it will get her."  She walked out then, slippered feet scrapping the floor.

            Atune's blank face starred after her a few moments before raising an eyebrow and turned to go back to her own room.

            Numair held Jade in his lap, stroking her soft hair.  "Where you frightened?"  She shook her head no.  "Then why did you call for me?"

            Jade lifted her head.  "I didn't know what I'd done, to the room?"

            He nodded in sudden understanding.  "Well, let's take a peak, shall we?"  He lifted the oil lamp and they looked around the room.  "Everything looks normal, don't you think?"  When he looked at her, she was looking up.  He tilted his own head up and his eyes widened in surprise.  "Well…"  Long ivy vines were entangled all around the ceiling mosaic, purple flowers blossomed and bright.  "It's very pretty."  Jade sighed and he laughed.  "We'll have Essien clean it out in the morning.  It doesn't look like it will hurt anyone."  Jade sighed.  "Now, you need to get some sleep.  Riding lessons start tomorrow, bright and early, and don't think you're getting out of it again."

            Jade grumped and frowned.  "I don't want too."  
            "Don't be silly, Jade.  Some of the finest horses in the realm are here in Kilbao and you don't want to ride them?"  
            "They're too nervous!"

            "They're horses.  You just have to get used to them, comfortable with them.  They'll warm up to you."

            "The one you brought yesterday almost stepped on my foot."  She was being difficult now, she knew.

            Numair gasped in exasperation and nudged her to the bed.  "To sleep.  To sleep I say!"

*****

Wow! Fun huh?  Weehoo…ok…hope you liked it.

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	26. SNIP! SNIP!

            The Secret Magic : 2: Uncontrollable

By: Karigan Marie

Chapter:  Snip Snip

*****

"So you want to be a boy, do you?"  Mistress Messina called out shrilly.

Jade's head swung around to the left in order to see where the old bag was yelling from.  She was taken by surprise when she felt the woman's cold skinny hand wrap around her upper arm and yank her off the pony.  Jade practically fell off, her left foot catching in the stirrup and twisting awkwardly.  The old retch was strong for being so frail looking.

Jade had nearly forgotten what it felt like to wear breeches.  She'd been somewhat exuberant about the idea of finally being able to learn how to ride horseback on a 'real' ridding saddle; and looked forward to never again using a sidesaddle.  She'd woken up good and early to go find Squirrel, her small freckled pony, and get a good start on her practicing.  But after only half an hour into her intended project of learning how to trot on a horse without having to compensate in balance by leaning, she'd been rudely interrupted.

She landed on one knee, the arm not gripped tightly in Mistress Messina's hand helping her balance by flailing around pointlessly.  "Honestly, I've never such naughtiness! A young lady in breeches! Preposterous! And after your behavior of the last few weeks, mopping around and acting the way you were.  And Lady Masson, allowing you to skip lessons.  You are much to spoiled."

"I'm not a lady!"  Jade snapped back quickly.  She wrinkled her nose at the thought.

"Not in court, perhaps.  But you are the Regent Mage's daughter, and you cannot meander around showing your legs!"  She tugged on Jade's arm, pulling her towards the manor house.

"But I've worn bree…Ouch!  She was cut off by a warning squeeze from Mistress Messina.

"Quiet girl! Stop talking back!"

Jade clamped her mouth shut.  Mistress Messina was a strict old bag that took it upon herself, as a personal mission, to make sure the household honor was kept.  She was cautious of almost all actions Jade took when Atune wasn't tutoring her.  She'd nearly had her ears boxed a few months ago, when Mistress Messina had caught a servant boy in Jade's room helping her tear down some vines she'd accidentally grown the previous night.

Jade sighed to herself as she was dragged into the kitchen.  Perfect.  She'd probably have to peal potatoes for the rest of the morning for 'this' indiscretion.

Mistress Messina called out to one of her cooks.  "Nesi!"  She pulled Jade to a wooden chair and pushed her down into it, finally releasing a now sore arm.  She walked to the counter and grabbed a bowl.

Jade sighed again in frustration, pushing a few strands of long black curly hair out of her face.  She leaned back and sunk down the chair, crossing her arms and ducking her face, letting her thick mass of curls hide her scowl.

The cook hurried in then with a questioning look.  It soon turned to a sigh of understanding at seeing an upset housekeeper and slumped Jade.  "Nesi, come hold this bowl!"  The cook wandered over the old housekeeper.  

"Sit up straight, child!"  Jade jumped in surprise at the voice so close to her ear and the sharp swat on the head.  "You want to be a boy so badly, you'd show your legs in front of everyone? We'll see how much you want to be a boy when you look like one as well!"  Jade felt cool hands pulling back her hair.  She turned her head sharply to one side to see the small thin woman holding a pair of scissors.  Jade's brilliant green eyes doubled in size and she leaned forward to get out of the seat only to be pulled back down by a sharp tug on her hair.  "Oh no you don't! A punishment is a punishment!  Sit down!"

Jade clenched her eyes in despair.  Her father had told her to behave and listen to the old housekeeper, even if she was a 'tad bit old fashioned'.  She gripped the sides of the chair with white knuckles and clenched her teeth as if in pain when she heard the hard rasping sound of the scissors cutting through her hair.

Her head jerked forward slightly when the hair was freed from her head; and her eyes caught a thick lock of curl floating down to the ceramic floor with a wave of nausea.  Mistress Messina took another handful and chopped away, then another, and another.  Jade clenched her eyes.

Finally the rasping and snipping stopped and Jade heard the clatter of the scissors being placed into the bowl that held most of her hair.  She reached up and felt her hair and almost began crying.  The old witch had cut it just below her ears.  She let out a shaky breath.

"Perhaps now you will think about your honor and how poorly riding astraddle reflects on your respectability."  Mistress Messina walked out of the kitchen with a huff; the cook close on her heals.

Jade sat in stunned silence for nearly five minutes, her mouth hanging open slightly in amazement.  She finally stood up slowly and turned to look at the floor.  A few stray strands had not fallen into the bowl and lay tragically against the pretty ceramic floor.  She walked over to the counter and reached into the bowl with both hands.  She pulled out a handful of black curls in her left hand and the scissors in the right.  She brought the hair up closer to look at and felt a new wave of astonishment.

She placed the hair back into the bowl and fingered the scissors in both hands.  Looking at it, but not really seeing it.  Her depression and despair over the situation suddenly began to turn into boiling anger.  Her eyebrows scrunched up as her eyes turned a deep hard green in color.

She realized her emotions getting extreme only a moment afterwards and was momentarily surprised her magic hadn't taken the opportunity to have a field day.  Concluding that the winter months had again sent her magic into a dormant state, she let the anger flow freely.  And after a few more moments, when she was sure that her magic wasn't getting out of control by her lack of control of her emotions, she turned and, with a screech of anger, flung the scissors across the kitchen towards a glass cabinet holding several glass cups and plates.

Her anger fell flat through the floor when piercing green magic, darker than usual, screamed from her body and shot out of her mouth like millions of small particles and a ray of green slammed through her arm and out her palm, pushing the scissors harder.  The millions of small particles of magic slammed into the wall and split it in two as vines pierced through it, down to the floor and across the ceramic floor, sending one of the house cats yowling out the door.  It reached the counters on the opposite wall and split the cabinets as it slammed through them and the wall behind it.

The scissors slammed into the glass cabinet, her magic adding to the force and speed of its inertia.  Glass shattered deafeningly and flew to the floor with great force; the beam of dark green light that had attached itself to the pair of scissors exploded on impact with the glass cabinet as well.  Green light reflected of the many pieces of glass and filled the room momentarily with blinding green light.  At which point a massive tree root punched through the tiled wall and extended out a good three feet.

Jade had pushed herself back against the table and frozen in surprise.  When the vines and roots finally slowed to a stop and the noise of shattering glass disappeared, the silence made Jade's heart quicken.  She heard hurried footsteps and worried calls.  She swallowed uneasily.  Mistress Messina and the Cook ran in and screeched to a stop at the entranceway, the cook's eyes widening in horror and Mistress Messina's hand coming up to cover a cry of alarm.

More hurried footsteps as Jade heard another voice from the hallway.  "Jade?"  Atune pushed through the two women and looked around, a bluish Kitten appearing near her heals.  Atune's eyes saw the root, vine and shattered glass and then immediately flew to Jade.  She launched herself forward and to her knees in front of the nine-year-old.  "Are you alright?"  Jade nodded, eyes still wide in stunned amazement.

Atune sighed in relief.  "I could hear that all the way up in the drawing room.  I thought we were under attack aga…" Her voice stopped suddenly, her eyes widening in absolute horror.  She reached up and, although not roughly, grabbed a fistful of her hair.  "WHAT in Mithros' name happened to you hair?!?"  Kitten squeaked shrilly.  

Jade looked down and winced miserably.  "Mistress Messina cut it off because I wore breeches and tried to ride Squirrel in a regular saddle."

Atune let out a breath of disbelief.  She stood up quickly, taking Jade's hand in her own and turned to the old women and cook.  "You cut off her hair?"

Mistress Messina sighed audibly.  "My lady, the girl needs to learn to act like a girl.  It will not do for her to…"

She was cut off by Atune pushing through the two women, Jade trailing behind.  "Come with me Messina."  Atune's voice was cold and hard, leaving no room for argument.

They walked quickly up the grand staircase in the foyer and down one of the magnificence hallways, Kitten's angry red form occasionally snapping at the old ladies feet.  Jade was sometimes overwhelmed by how large the house was.  She was used to the vast hallways and courts at the palace, but never had so much space belonged to her family.  Within a minute they reached the far end rooms, those her father used.  Atune banged noisily on his study door.  Jade looked up at Atune's face and saw a cloud of anger there not unlike her own had been in the kitchen.  Jade felt a moment of envy that Atune could allow herself such emotion and not destroy a perfectly useful room.  They heard a thump and curse through the door followed by a quick 'come-in'.

Atune turned to Messina.  "You are to stay here until called for."  The old woman's face was slightly surprised, but Jade could see no more as she was tugged into her father's study.

There was nothing unusual about the room.  It was filled with books and documents, all in great disarray.  The desk was covered in papers and ink, the walls were covered end to end with bookshelf after bookshelf, all of which were filled to capacity with various other books crammed on top of the shelved ones where space permitted.  A scrying mirror she recognized as her mother's sat on top of a stack of papers sitting on a chair.  Her father was on the library ladder looking through books on the top shelf, his back to them.  She jumped in surprise when Atune nearly slammed the door closed behind them.  "Numair."  Atune stated with little softness.

"Hmm?"  Numair continued to look at his book.

"Numair!"  She stated again.

"I'm listening, Atune." He stated with patience, flipping a few more pages.  Jade nearly smiled at his actions.

"I think this time it would be appreciated if you would 'look' at us while we speak."

His eyes scrunched up at 'us' and he looked over.  Noticing his daughter, he smiled brightly at her and looked back to his book.  He turned back to the shelf, placing the book away.  It took a few moments.  And even as Jade expected his reaction, she couldn't help it as she jumped slightly when her father's whole body whirled around for a second look.  His eyes landed on her again with a hard glare full of questions.  Good grief, she was in for it now.

He climbed down the small ladder with purpose.  When he finally stood in front of her, his towering height and crossed arms giving him a rather menacing presence, she had to look down at her hands.  They were twisting and twining together in nervousness.  She tried to rub away the small green glow on the edges of her fingers.

"What did you do to your hair?"

She expected his voice to be angry by the look on his face; but it was soft and almost sad.  She was about to speak when Atune cut in, and there was no softness or sadness in her voice.  It was laced with anger and hard, sharp words.  "Punishment.  For wearing breeches and riding astraddle on her pony.  Mistress Messina seemed to think it appropriate."

Numair looked up at Atune with little emotion, only a slight widening of his eyes in comprehension.  He reached forward and ran his hand through the short mess of hair, his eyes taking on a sad look of concentration and his jaw setting with disappointment.  He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in resignation.  "Is she here?" he asked Atune quietly.

A quick nod.  "Outside, waiting."

"Ask Mistress Messina to step inside.  Atune, please, see what you can do with this…" He waved at Jade's hair.  "…Tragedy."  Jade sighed in defeat again.  It would take months for her hair to grow out.

Jade nodded and obediently walked to the door beside Atune.

*****

The old housekeeper stepped inside the unorganized study and scrunched her nose at its disarray.  Master Numair stood at the window; book in hand, reading it carefully.  "I understand you cut Jade's hair as punishment."  It was casual, and it gave the prude woman lead to explain.

"I caught her outside this morning with breeches on, Sir.  Not only that, instead of her usual lady's saddle, she rode on a man's saddle."

"And punishment for this is to cut off her hair?"

"Sir, I know the child treasures her hair very much, a vanity that should be broken soon, if you ask me, so it is suitable that punishment for acting like a boy is to have to look like one."

            Numair sighed and closed his book patiently.  "Messina, Jade is accustomed to Tortall.  Women are not barred from riding like men there."

            "Yes.  I am aware of this, Sir.  But I beg your pardon for saying so, Sir.  She is in Tortall, no longer.  Here in Carthak, traditions are different, as you know so very well, already.  And while the cities on the coast of the Great Inland Sea may have tolerated some wild behavior, Kilbao is still very traditional.  To let your daughter run around in breeches, showing her legs so vulgarly, it is intolerable.  What are people to think, they will talk."

            "I'm not terribly interested in what others think, Messina."

            "No Sir, of coarse not.  Your status is much too high for anyone to think anything but the best of you.  But the same can not be said about Jade."

            "She is my daughter, and will inherit the same position in life as I."  He looked at the old woman now, his irritation getting the better of him.

            "She is a girl, Sir."

            "And therefore…" he waited for her to explain further.

            The woman straightened her back.  "And her respectability rests on completely different grounds than yours, Sir."

            "Respectability?"

            "Breeches, Sir."

            "I told you, Messina.  She is accustomed to Tortall.  People know this."

            "If you will pardon me for saying sir, People don't really care.  It's bad enough for her to be running around with a tutor that will not even wear a veil; but for her to be showing her legs, no matter how young she still may be…people will think she is no better than she ought to be."

            Numair clenched his eyes and set his jaw, turning away from the woman.  He'd heard words like that like years ago, and had been just as irritated by them, though for different reasons. 

{If you visit a man's room, you need a chaperon.  Really Numair, you know Carthakis.  They think an unveiled woman is no better than she ought to be.  Until we leave here, you can't talk with her unless she is chaperoned or you can manage it in public.}

            Messina took the silence as an advantage.  "I do not understand why after so many months of wearing dresses, she should want to wear breeches now.  She has been willing, I presumed she'd been wearing them her entire life."

            Numair took a deep breath and turned away from the old bag.  "Her mother past away one year ago as of yesterday."  The woman's eyes flickered with the slightest amount of sadness before turning back to their stern dark brown.  "In Galla, it is traditional for a girl to wear mourning regalia for one full year after her mother's death.  A tradition her mother never had the opportunity to fulfill when her own mother, Sara, left with the Dark Lord."  He sighed.  "For some reason, though I'm not really sure, Jade wanted to carry through with it, I never questioned her about it."  He scrunched his nose at the thought.  "As of today, she is no longer required, by tradition, to wear dresses or dark colors."

            "So am I to assume, than, Sir, that she is to be permitted to run around like a homeless girl with no proper clothing?"

            Numair turned around from the window to finally face her again, his eyes now stormy with anger.  "You are to assume nothing, Messina.  I will not dismiss you today; because you were not fully aware of the situation.  But that doesn't let you off the hook.  From now on, you will leave matters of discipline to either myself or to Lady Atune, is that understood?"

            The housekeeper swallowed and nodded silently.

            "Furthermore, my daughter's 'reputation' is not put on the line simply because she wears breeches or rides on a regular saddle.  In fact, I want you to hire the best rider in Kilbao.  My daughter needs to learn from the best."

            The housekeepers eyes widened in astonishment.  "But, Sir…"

            "My daughter is training to be a Mage, Mistress Messina.  Her duties when she is ordained will often times require long and fast-passed travel.  It is absolutely absurd she should be expected to complete such tasks while riding 'sidesaddle'.  If anyone has questions about her respectability, you may answer them with that.  Is that clear?"

            The women remained calm and unblinking throughout the lecture.  She lifted her head, and with a quite and restrained voice, bit out, "transparently, Sir."

            Numair nodded.  "Good."  He turned back to his books.  "Dismissed."  The housekeeper turned quickly and quietly and exited the room.

*****

            Atune fussed with Jade's hair for a good half hour before finally giving up.  "I think we're just going to have to wait for it to grow out some."  Jade sighed and ran fingers through the puffy results.  "At least your curls will give it some volume.  No boy would walk around with hair this lively."  
            A half grin was all Jade could manage.  "That stupid old witch.  I'd like to cut off _her_ hair, see how _she_ likes it."

            "It's not so bad.  At least she cut it evenly."  Atune leaned around to look at her face.  "It would have been an even greater disaster had she not."

            Jade sighed.  "I was just trying to ride my pony…"  
            "I know…Messina is just…a bit old-fashioned.  I wouldn't be surprised if she got the idea to chop of all your pretty hair from her own nurse while growing up."

            Jade looked interested.  "You think?"

            Atune laughed.  "I wouldn't be surprised."  She gave Jade a squeeze from behind.  "Now come to it, time to go back out and learn to ride that pony properly."

            "Why can't I have a horse?"

            Atune scrunched her nose.  "You're to small, Jade.  How would you mount a horse?"

            Jade shrugged. "I'd manage."

            Atune laughed heartily.  "I'm sure you would.  But for now, a pony will do you just fine.  Less distance to the ground should you happen to fall."

*****

            Jade spent the remainder of the morning riding the little pony; she was glad, for the first time since beginning to ride, that she _did_ have such a short ways to go to the ground.  She fell off three times; why she thought riding astraddle would be any easier than sidesaddle was beginning to sound absurd.  The pony, which was very calm to begin with, was still much to fidgety for Jade's taste, partly because of Kitten, who would weave in and out of the poor creatures legs.  She felt unsteady and unbalanced, as if her weight would collapse the poor thing.

            It was the first time she was required to post, something Kirk, her instructor, told her would make the ride much smoother.  When she waddled inside for lunch, she was sure she'd reduced her rear end to a flat plate.

            She ate vigorously, refusing to meet the eyes of any of the servants who stared at her in question when noticing her hair.  After washing up, she gingerly walked up the grand staircase to her study room.  Atune waited with her books and papers, ready to begin lessons.  Jade sighed and walked to her chair, glaring at her tutor when she snickered at the way she moved.

            When the manor bell rung the evening hour, Jade shut her book on herbs and sighed happily.  "I'm starving!"  She jumped up and quickly regretted it when the pull in her legs screamed.

            Atune smiled.  "Riding sidesaddle is all about balance, something you still haven't picked up.  Riding astraddle…It's a bit more physically demanding than balance based."  She smiled.  "You writing has improved very much in the last few months."  Her ivory hands picked up some papers and documents, looking them over.  She sighed.  "Though your math is still, at best, average.  I don't understand why you find it so difficult."

            Jade swallowed and shrugged.  "I just don't like it."

            "That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try harder."

            "I am trying."

            "If you put as much effort in to your Arithmetic as you do into Science, you'd be building bridges in a year."

            "I won't be building bridges, though.  So why learn how?"

            "To better improve yourself."

            Jade looked away with a heaving sigh.  "I don't want to improve myself."

            Atune eyes scrunched together.  "Jade.  I may only be your tutor, and I don't want to sound like I'm your mother, but…"

            "Than stop acting like it."  It came out of her mouth without even realizing it.  As soon as the last word was out, Jade bit her tongue and was instantly remorseful.  Her head swung around to meet Atune's eyes.  They were stunned and shocked, her mouth open slightly, her tongue coming out to lick dry lips.  Jade swallowed slowly and looked down.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't…" The dinner bell rang lightly in the background.

            Atune smiled tightly and reached for some more papers.  "It's time for supper."  Jade's eyes followed Atune's form as she walked across the room to the door.  "Yes, ma'am."  She followed silently.

*****

            She sat against a thriving Sunt-tree, rare for this time of year. Kitten slept peacefully next to her.  She particularly liked this wonderful tree, found only in the south of Carthak.   It carried a very sweet smell.  The leaves color a soft green and bearing yellow flowers.  The bark, while gnarled and black and rough, was soft and pliable, perfect for leaning against.  And although Sunt-trees have angular, spreading branches and many sharp thorns, not many people knew she could hide well within it's dense foliage.

            It was her favorite meditation spot.  Every evening, she sat with her knees pulled up against her chest, her arms wrapping around them and the side of her head gently lying upon her knees, eyes staring at nothing.  She would sometimes rock back and forth, the soothing motion helped to clear her head.

            Every night, after dinner, her father and her would work on her magic.  When one considered, that consisted mostly of meditation, her father saying she had to get a hold of her thoughts and mind before she would be able to control her magic.  So she'd sit, letting all her thoughts drain from her for hours on end on occasion, hoping that the ever constant knot in her stomach would ease enough for her to use her magic without punching through a wall.

            Sometimes, she would be unable to clear her thoughts, and they would wander to other things.  More than not, they wandered to the fact that she'd been working on clearing her mind for nearly four years know, an extremely large chunk of her life, and yet, she hadn't so much as been able to call up her magic voluntarily.  It always came out at such inopportune times, when her emotions were high.

            For a few months not too long ago, her father had explored that option, asking her to use her emotions, encouraging her to let them cloud her mind.  So she'd brought up feelings of anger towards Molina, the girl in Tortall that had tortured and teased her for so long, of longing for Amena, whose letters were often times, her only means of sanity.

            Once, she even attempted to remember the fear of ice and cold when she fell into the ice.  She had frozen in utter fear and been unable to move.  Her father had ended the approach that night.

            So they continued on this approach, trying to let her mind take control of the magic by relaxing it.  This was one of the nights she was unable to leave current thoughts out of her mind.  She felt retches for her harsh words to Atune, couldn't help but want to apologize to her.

            Atune wasn't her mother.  Jade knew that, Atune knew that, and Jade had never once thought of Atune as trying to take her mother's place.  It simply wasn't possible.  Atune was…a tutor, yes, but, almost an elder sister.  Jade frowned at the remembrance of her angry words.  'Check all thoughts at your tongue…' a small smile played out on her face at a familiar saying of her mother's.

            Her mother…those were thoughts that could never be put away.  She closed her eyes softly and brought up images of gray blue eyes and brown curly hair.  Jade smiled softly.

;a;a;a;a;a;

            "What did you do on your trip, Mama?"  Jade curled up onto her side in the bed as her mother tucked her in.

            "Oh, a lot of stuff."  She ran fingers through the girl's mass of curls.

            "Mama?"

            "Hmm?"

            "Are you going to go away again?"

            "Not for a while, no."  She sat down on the small bed beside the curled up girl.

            "You promise?"

            She smiled sadly.  "I can't promise that, sweet.  I don't know what will happen.  But, I can promise you this.  I will try my hardest to always be here, alright?"

;a;a;a;a;a;

            "Mama?"

            "Yes?"

            "Sing me a song?"

            A soft smile. "Alright."

            *Every voice is silent round the world,

All the earth is sleeping on this night, 

            My tired little one, you are in my keeping.

            I can hear you softly as you breathe,

            Your tiny heart is beating,

            Savor every moment now my child,

            For youth is surely fleeting.

            I am here now,

            Have no fear now.

            I will keep you safe until the dawn. *

;a;a;a;a

            "I didn't know you still remembered that song?"  Jade nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice.  She looked up to see her father sitting next to her.  "You were humming it," he said as way of explanation.

            "Oh."  Kitten stirred and listened with little interest.

            "I'm glad you remember it."  He said after a few moments of silence.

            Jade licked her lips.  "I remember a lot of things."

            He nodded with satisfaction.  "Good.  I wouldn't want you to forget them."  He smiled softly in the dimming light.

            Jade stood up and brushed off her breeches.  "Do you remember?"

            He smiled brilliantly then.  "I remember everything."

            Jade couldn't help but smile as well.  She looked up at the purple sky, it was really pretty and in the distance, she could hear the music of a lively servant's party.  She looked back down to him, questioningly.  "What did you love most about her?"

            He stood up and leaned down to her, looking her in the eyes.  'I loved her hair…so wild and curly…like yours."

            Jade smiled.  "Really?"

            "Yes."  He reached down and took her hands, twirling her around with the distant music.  Jade giggled.  "I loved dancing with her."  They twirled, Jade clenching her eyes momentarily when she got dizzy.  "I loved that, whenever she was around, the birds would chirp as if it were the first day of spring."  He dipped her dramatically, smacking a kiss on her forehead.  Jade's eyes glowed brilliantly.  

"But I think, more than anything else…" he declared dramatically, "I loved making…_magic_…with her!"  He swung her up in the air and twirled her around, black fireworks going off just around their heads, sparkling with life.  Jade screeched in laughter, deep green soft sparks of magic flying from her hair and dropping to the grass, springing up vines and deep green leaves that budded and produced white orchids of vanilla within seconds around the Sunt-tree.

*****

A/N: I hope you all like this chapter.  I'm in the middle of re-editing my entire first story.  When it's done, there will be some changes, not in plot, but in grammar and spelling, Some wording and sentences will be changed, but nothing dramatic.  So anyways, I'll be updating when I can, but I want to have the first story completely re-edited by the end of January.

Also: this story is almost ended.  30 chapters in all…this one is number 26…so only four more to go.  Brace yourselves, it's not happy.  I won't be killing off anymore essential characters….in this story, but it doesn't have a happy ending.

Future Chapters:

27. WAR

28. Crumbling Stone

29. The Road to Orleon

30. He who does Evil

Next story: The Secret Magic: 3: Whisperings

READ AND REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW…. : )


	27. WAR

A/N: Ok…next chapter up….pretty quick, huh.?

Anyways, my little cousin wanted to watch a movie the other night and so I pulled out the first girly movie I had.  "The little Princess" There are two scenes in the movie that just caught my attention.  They just fit in the relationship between Numair and Jade so perfectly, I HAD to borrow them.  You may have noticed in the last chapter…the very last scene.  In this one, it's the goodbye scene between Numair and Jade.  It's very emotional and touching.  I really like how it turned out.

I also am re-introducing a character…you'll find out!  The character will have a very big role in the next two stories…I think you'll really like him.

I also tried to better depict the relationship between Atune and Numair, since a few of you had the horrid idea that I was trying to set them up!  Let everyone know, I am a TRUE Daine/Numair fan…Numair will never love another woman, I promise.

The Secret Magic : 2: Uncontrollable

By: Karigan Marie

Chapter: WAR

*****

            The letter fell to the desk, the slight rustling of it hitting the table, echoing throughout the room as if magnified by its message.  Numair stood, staring at the parchment with an intense sadness.  They'd worked for years to prevent this from happening.  Countless diplomatic missions gone to waste, countless lives were now inevitably lost.

The only two candles in the room flickered when he breathed out a light sigh.  Kitten, who lay by his feet during his hours of work, looked up at him with sad eyes and gray skin, sensing his utter grief.  He looked down upon her, the candles casting shadows upon her scaly hide.  Outside the open window to one of his studies, the rapid hoof beats of the messenger horse range out on its errand across Kilbao.  He stared out into the dark night and felt his heart sink; life had thrown its share of life-altering events at Jade and him, this would again, change everything.

"Well, Kitten," he said softly, "I can honestly wonder now, what will tomorrow bring."  He sunk into his chair and starred into the night sky once more, waiting for the hoof beats to return.

*****

"Lord Salim."  Numair reached forward, grasping the Lord-Governor's forearm in greeting, his tone somber.

The man, still half asleep, smiled tightly.  He looked around and sighed.  "Master Numair."  He shifted towards the window and heaved heavily.  "To be awoken so early in the morning, with notice of important news from the Capital, it pushed me to despair during my rather abrupt trip across our city."

Numair nodded in sadness.  "I have, alas, not good news to report, my lord." He picked up the parchment, which carried the Tortallan and Carthaki Royal seals.  He looked at it a moment before passing it to the Lord Governor.

The man, whose dark face could hardly be noticed in the night sighed and reached for the parchment with a wary air about him.  He met Numair's eyes before looking down at the letter.  Within seconds, his eyes closed in defeat, his own sadness taking over.  "It is as I feared."  He let the parchment fall to the table, letting a moment of silent prayer pass between them.  "I'll call for the draft immediately.  They will, no doubt, need soldiers to the south, to prevent the retched rebels from causing trouble for the northern fight.  Numair nodded.  Lord Salim sighed.  "You will be needed at the Capital shortly.  I'll see to it that your daughter and her governess have a carriage for transport."

Numair's head snapped up.  "No."

"I'm sorry?"

Numair's jaw clenched.  "Jade cannot go to the capital.  The man who murdered her mother will be expecting me to bring her there with me.  She would not be safe."

Lord Salim nodded.  "Then we shall arrange for guards to be here with her."

A simple nod was Numair's only reply.

"You will leave today then."  It wasn't so much a question as a confirmation.

"This evening, yes."

Lord Salim reached forward and grasped his forearm.  "May the God's be with you."

Numair sighed.  "May they be with all of us."

Lord Salim nodded his agreement.  "I must go, preparations must be started immediately.  Safe journey, Master Salmalin."  With that, the man walked from the room and down the hall.  
            Kitten purred from a nearby chair, her gray skin shimmering slightly.  Numair looked back down at the parchment, tracing the edge with his finger.

**Master Numair Salmalin ~**

**Scanra has raised their battle flags upon the Northern provinces of Tortall.  Serain, under the new leadership of the War-Lord Bant-Lei and under a new understanding of treaty with Scanra, has marched on Tyra, the neutral state, with intentions of positioning against Carthak.  Carthak and Tortall have no further option then to reply with defensive conflict.  The WAR flags have been raised.**

**Your immediate presence is requested at the Carthaki capital for further instructions.  Lord-Governor Jabari Salim is to also prepare Kilbao for draft and instructions.**

**Their Majesties of Tortall and Carthak**

Goddess Bless 

*****

            Numair tucked his riding gloves into his leather traveling bag, striding down the long passageway.  When bright blue skirts appeared in his vision, he halted abruptly and looked up.  Atune stood outside Jade's door, her hands folded in front of her.  He smiled sadly at her.  "The short notice makes it hard for me to concentrate," he admitted, showing his gloves.  "I forgot my riding gloves."

            Atune nodded.  She looked up at Numair with sad eyes, noticing the streaks of gray hair that were starting to lighten his black hair.  His face was still mostly young, wrinkles only from the last few years.  His towering height and slender build were still quite intimidating at age 46.  She looked up at the man that had been like an older brother to her since she lost hers many years ago.  Numair leaned down and petted Kitten affectionately.  The little dragonet purred sadly.  He stood again and smiled sadly down at Atune.

            Her apprehension towards touching anyone but Jade leaving her for the moment, she launched herself at him, wrapping her slender pale arms around his waste, burying her face in his chest.

            Numair was surprised at first.  Atune didn't generally allow any touching since…it was odd.  He smiled sadly and squeezed her gently, brotherly affection growing inside him.  "I'll be back soon."

            She nodded and pulled away, sniffing softly.  She walked down the hall to her own quarters, kitten trailing behind, her little clawed toes dragging on the stone, leaving him in front of the wooden door he never wanted to leave.

*****

   He knocked softly before entering the fresh room.  Jade stood by the corner, looking inside a trunk of toys without much conviction.  She looked up at him and then away, to a painting on the wall.  Numair looked at her wild curly black hair, barely reaching her shoulders, her tanned face with jade green eyes, lined with coal black eyelashes and eyebrows.  "We'll write to each other every day."  It was meant for comfort, to assure her he would not forget her.

            She looked at him momentarily, her eyes holding a sad resignation he never wanted to see there.  He walked over to her window, where cushions and blankets were set up on the fat sill for her to sit and gaze out into the sky.  He sat, his hands falling to his lap.  She was so quiet.

            He looked over at her nightstand and noticed a necklace, a familiar necklace.  He reached and picked it up, rubbing the badger claw in remembrance.  "Your mother used to get visits from the Badger God quite frequently.

            Jade looked up with interest.  "She did?"

            He nodded.  "This necklace connected her to him.  His visits ended shortly before we were married.  But she always kept the necklace, as a reminder, that they would always be close."  He beckoned her to him.  She walked over and climbed up onto his lap, one arm going around his neck, the other rested in her lap, the light shinning in from the setting sun making her eyes glow.  He held up the necklace and she took it.  "Whenever you're afraid, or miss me terribly, ask the badger to give me a message.  And I'll send one back, quick as lightning."

            His throat clogged up and he tried to breath normally when the tightening in his chest became worse.  He looked down momentarily, trying to collect himself.  She was the most precious thing in this realm to him, how could he leave her?

            Then he felt her warm small palm gently cup his cheek.  When his eyes looked up to meet hers, he couldn't help but be amazed at the calmness in them.  The vivid green irises sparkling with understanding and assurance.  "It's all right, Papa," she assured.  "I'm going to be fine."  He stared at her, unable to comprehend such maturity.  How was it possible that he, as a grown man, was having such difficulty holding it together when, she, a child of near 10 held such utter grace within her eyes?

            He shut his eyes trying to burn her image into his mind.  And the small hand moved to trace his nose and chin with a single finger.  She lovingly brought it up to his forehead, sweeping gently across and down.  He opened his eyes to see her observing him with soft eyes.  "What are you doing?" he asked, imagining she did the same as he.  "Memorizing my face by heart?"  He felt his eyes sting with tears.

            She shook her head softly, her eyebrows twitching in concentration only the tiniest amount.  "No," she whispered  "I already know you by heart."

            He let out a breath at her words and crushed her to him, her small arms wrapping around his neck.

*****

He stepped up the horse, sighing at the journey ahead, various other riders accompanying him.  Before mounting, he looked up to one of the windows, seeing a small figure curled up against the windowsill observing him.  "Goodbye, sweetling," he breathed out softly.   He mounted quickly and kicked off, disappearing behind the bend.

            Up at the window sill, the small figure raised a hand to the glass, a single tear running down her soft cheek, hanging from the side of her chin, the evening light shimmering against it, making the green light within the water sparkle.

*****

            A knock on the room door snapped him out of his concentration.  He placed down the quill and wiped his hands.  Standing, he walked over to the door and opened it.  Outside stood a short servant boy.  "Master Salmalin, his Majesty has just concluded his meeting.  He asked that you meet him in one hour in west wing chancellor's study."

            Numair nodded.  "Yes, of course."

            The boy nodded and ran down the hall.  Numair sighed and closed the door.  He walked back to his desk and looked at his letter to Jade.  He didn't have much to say other than he'd arrived safely and missed her with all his heart.  He decided to finish tonight, grabbing his mage's robe and sash.  He left his rooms and proceeded down the great Carthaki palace corridors.  He wandered about, looking at the new paintings and walls, smiling at the memory of why a new palace was required in the first place.

            He had been observing an ancient warriors painting when he heard various footsteps step out into the hall.  He turned and noticed two guards and a beautiful women step out into the foyer.  He smiled.

            Empress Kalasin looked up from her papers.  When she caught sight of Numair, she cried out in joy and ran to him, her guards slightly put out by such hasty behavior.  Before he could finish his bow, she wrapped arms around him and he around her slight form and smiled at her.  She'd by this point in her life, completely overshadowed her mother's beauty.  "Kalasin…" he said happily.  "I was sure I wouldn't have time to see you."

            Kalasin took his hands in hers.  "I would have put this retched war on hold just so I'd be able to see you," she gushed back.  "Tell me.  How are you?" Her eyes softened dramatically.

            He smiled back reassuringly.  "I'm well.  Not terribly happy to be taken away from Jade and Kilbao, but we always new it to be nearly inevitable."

            She tilted her head in understanding.  "Yes.  All this has drastically upset us all.  I'd hoped I wouldn't have to see any more battle after that night not to long ago.  I couldn't be more fed up with fighting."

            "I think we all were." He agreed sadly.

            Kalasin looked remorseful.  "I wish I could have been there for you more afterwards."

            He shook his head.  "You were with you daughter while she healed.  That was more important."

            She sighed.  "Yes.  I think we both can count our blessings that Jade and Ani were both saved that night."  She looked into thin air.  "Had it not been for…" she stopped suddenly and looked at him.  "I nearly forgot! Come, there's someone I think you'd want to meet."  He scrunched his nose up at her, but followed obediently.  "I think perhaps…yes, I'm sure they have finished with their meeting now."  They walked down the hall and down steps quickly, the guards trailing without a word.  "Here we are," she said with a sigh.  She pushed the door open before one of the guards could and stepped through, Numair directly behind.

            It was a rather large room, filled with a large table and various chairs, a meeting room.  There were still papers and documents spread out on the table, various men and servants talking amidst themselves in the aftermath of their meeting.  When she entered the room, all bowed to her in greeting.  She walked towards one man in particular who was collecting his papers.  He was young, far younger than most the other occupants of the room, by a good 10 years at least.  His dark brown hair cut short in the legionnaires fashion.

            "Captain Lenex…" Kalasin called to him.  The young man stood and bowed regally.

            "You're Majesty."  He smiled at her.  "What may I do for you?"

            She smiled kindly at him before turning to Numair.  "Captain, this is Master Numair Salmalin.  Numair, this is Captain Jayson Lenex.

Both men greeted each other with a firm handshake.  "_Captain_ Lenex? So young to be a Captain.  I'm impressed."

"I'm the second of two boys, Master Salmalin, my elder brother will have the task of inheriting and keeping our father's lands.  I was ushered into to the Legionnaires at 14.  My family's good name and standing helped me to reach Lieutenant by 16.  But only last year was I so suddenly elevated to Captain, by our Majesty's insistence."  He smiled at the Empress.

She humped at him.  "After so many wondrous deeds in service of his country, it was only expected that he should advance so.  Do you not agree, Numair?"  They looked confused as to why Numair was expected to know all of Jayson's achievements.  Kalasin scrunched her nose.  "I thought you knew each other's names."

Jayson stuttered, "I've certainly heard of Master Salmalin.  Who has not?"

Kalasin's shoulders fell.  She looked towards Numair in confusion.  "I would have thought someone had told you?" she relaxed a bit.  "Though I imagine your mind was elsewhere at the time." She nodded at her own self.  "Yes, how silly of me.  How could you have?"  She looked at Numair again.  "Numair, that dreadful night a year ago, when Jade and Ani fell through the ice…" she gestured towards a wide-eyed Captain.  "Captain Lenex was the man who pulled them out."

Numair's head jerked up to meet the young man's eyes.  Realization set in, though the young man's eyes were astonished, they didn't hold the same knowledge.

"Captain Lenex," Kalasin turned to him, "the other girl you pulled out of the water that night, I told you her name was Jade?"

He nodded and swallowed at the memory.  "Yes, Majesty.  I remember…" He looked at Numair again, eyes questioning.

"Captain," she continued.  "Her entire name, of which I'm ashamed of not informing you of, is Jade Salmalin.  Jade is Master Numair's daughter."

Jayson stared at Kalasin in astonishment before slowly turning to Numair.  "I see…" was all that came out of his mouth.

Numair, getting over his shock, held out his hand again.  When Jayson took it once more, Numair whispered harshly, "Captain, I don't know what to say or what to do to thank you enough for saving both Ani and Jade that night."  He swallowed hard.  "I lost so much that night.  Had I lost my daughter too…" He was unable to finish the statement.

Jayson starred wide-eyed at him.  "Sir…I…no thanks are necessary."

Kalasin smiled softly.  "I'm glad you both were finally able to meet.  It's a shame Jade had to stay in Kilbao, Numair.  I'm sure she would have liked to meet Jayson as well."

Jayson scrunched his eyes in concentration.  "You've moved to Kilbao, Master Numair?"

He nodded.  "Yes, a few months after the attack.  Jade is much safer there."

Jayson's eyes turned hard and dangerous.  "Safer, Sir?"

Kalasin quickly explained.  "It seems that the same man who was after myself and my children is now after Jade."  She sighed.  "Numair, you could bring her here to the palace, she'd be safe.  I'd have my own royal guards protecting her."

Numair nodded.  "I don't doubt she'd have the best protection here.  But it seems that this man is very good at getting into well-guarded places.  He almost expects it.  For now, I believe she is safer in the country.  She is well-guarded."  He nodded.

Jayson glared at the wall in anger.  "What kind of man would hunt a child?"

Kalasin sadly answered.  "The same kind of man that would plan the assassination of two royal children and kidnap a child and steal her away from her home to far off lands."

Numair nodded.  "This war may have only one advantage, it will force his identity out.  Once we have it, we can find him."  Jayson nodded in agreement.

Kalasin looked from one to the other and then smiled.  "I am being very inconsiderate today, Numair.  I meant to ask.  How is Jade? Better, I hope?"

He smiled.  "She seems to be doing much better.  Though I wonder sometimes…" the three sat in chairs facing each other, deep in conversation.

Kalasin looked worried.  "About?"

He sighed.  "She seems very lonely at times.  She downright refuses to make friend in Kilbao.  She's very shy naturally, I wonder sometimes if isn't too shy. "

Jayson half smiled.  "She seemed…well, of course I had no more than ten words with her…but, had she been in better conditions, I'm sure she looked as if she wanted to give me a piece of her mind."

Numair smiled.  "I'm sure she would have.  I think, under stress, she forgets her self-consciousness."  He frowned then.  "With he magic being as it is, she's very scared of herself.  She always have been, ever since the market place when she was five…"

"That magic," Jayson asked, "is it always as powerful as that night?"

Numair nodded.  "It rarely comes out in small amounts.  Except when she has night terrors."

Kalasin clicked her tongue.  "Does she get many?"

He shrugged.  "More than she lets on.  You can usually tell when she's had one.  Her hands shake for almost a whole day afterwards."

Kalasin looked sad.  "I'm sorry to hear that."

Numair smiled.  "She's doing well, Empress.  She's learned to ride now.  And Atune is a wonderful teacher."  He looked at Jayson.  "You are…18, Captain?"

"Only just," was his reply.

Numair grinned.  "It is rare to find young men worthy of such advancement.  I am glad the Emperor and Empress of Carthak have you on their side.  Are you to go to Scanra in two weeks with the ranks?"

"I am not, Sir.  The Emperor feels my talents better useful in the South."

"How so?" Kalasin asked curiously.

Jayson reached for the glass of water placed at his seat at the grand table.  "I am, of course, prepared for battle.  But I excel in tracking; the only reason, sir, I was able to find 'the child empress' and your daughter, Sir." He looked at Numair.  "I'd never been in snow before.  It seems much easier to track."

Numair chuckled.  "The wonders of snow."

Jayson smiled agreeing.  "I made a name for myself among the Legionnaires by tracking rebels across the dry lands."

Kalasin broke in.  "A name? He's a near legend among them.  He can catch a pack of rebel spawn clear across our lands."

Jayson's face turned slightly pink.  "You favor me to much, you're Majesty."

She beamed at him, her beautiful face making him further redden.  "I am inclined to give great favor to anyone who shows as much honor and valor as you, Captain.  Let an Empress confined to her duties fawn over one of her young soldiers."  Numair laughed at Jayson's bright red flaming cheeks.

*****

A/N: Hope you like!  

Next Chapter: Crumbling Stone

Future Chapters: 29. The road to Orleon

30. He who does Evil

Future stories: The Secret Magic: 3: Whisperings

The Secret Magic: 4: Indestructible (**subject to change)**

**READ AND REVIEW READ AND REVIEW READ AND REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!**


	28. Crumbling Stone

            Hmmm…I haven't updated in a **long** time.  I have a lot of work to do.  I hope you like this chapter.  Two more to go in this story, remember, no happing ending in this one.  But remember also, another story is coming, so hold tight.  By the way…like I said…I don't have much time…so I didn't edit to much on this…you're all smart…I'm sure you can figure out what I meant…if not email me….I'll probably fix everything when I finish the entire thing and to a complete editing.

Enjoy

Karigan Marie

*****

The Secret Magic: Uncontrollable

Crumbling Stone

*****

"Keep up."  Jade picked up her pace behind the annoyed cook, making sure to keep her hood up in hopes no one would notice her.  She stepped around a pile of horse droppings, scrunching her nose at the pile as she passed it.  With her attention diverted, she didn't notice the cook had stopped her quick pace until she bumped into the round woman's back with an 'oomph!'

            The plump woman turned her black eyes down on Jade and glared.

            "I'm sorry, Nesi…" she began.

            "No need.  Just watch where you're going, child."  The woman turned back to the stand she had reached and picked out some apples, chit-chatting with the market seller.  Jade turned her head and watched the large amounts of people walk by, listening absently mindedly to the cook's conversation.

            "…apparently, they've moved west," the cook gossiped.  "…They burned Algar to the ground not two weeks ago."

            The market-women gasped and clicked her tongue in sadness.  "How astonishing.  Boni told me last week that the rebels have been taking slaves.  They leave the men and women's corpses rotting in the streets or burned in their homes and take the children!"

            Nesi shook her head and continued on.  "The Royal legionaries have been spread to thin, I hear.  Nearly half have been taken up north for the war leaving to few in the south."

            The apple-seller sighed and blinked worriedly.  "Where do you think they'll go next?"

            "I suppose the coast.  That's where I would go.  A lot of money to be had there."

            Jade looked at the two women in consternation.  The same gossip had been going around for nearly 5 months.  She rolled her eyes.  It really wasn't what she wanted to hear about.  She missed her father to much.  She counted on his weekly letters from the Carthak Capital or Tortall.  She never knew which he'd be at; he was going back and forth so often.

            The cook, Nesi, continued on.  "I even here the Emperor is thinking about closing the borders!"

            The market-seller gasped.  "No! Oh goodness gracious!  Which borders?

            "All of them!"

            Jade didn't like the sound of that.  If they closed the borders, only important mail and persons would get by.  She'd probably stop getting mail from Amena and her father.  She hated that thought.

            The topic of discussion shifted quickly.  "Nesi, why on earth do you have that child with you?"

            Nesi sighed.  "The Lady Atune is at the council building, getting some documents needed for the master.  He apparently sent word down for her to get some information from the library.  I find it odd indeed." She sighed again.  "And Mistress Messina cannot handle the girl all day at the manor.  So I've taken her along."  She patted Jade on the head as if she were a puppy.  Jade looked into the distance, trying to ignore the conversation as she waited.  She noticed some black smoke that looked to be coming from the eastern wall.  At least she couldn't smell the burning of the oil they did over there.  Often, the stench would reach across Kilbao.  She shifted on her feet and crossed her arms as Nesi and the women turned to a new topic of discussion.

*****

            They had finally made it to the last stand in the marketplace.  Jade sighed in relief; this would be the last time she willingly went _anywhere_ with Nesi.  The women could talk more than a book!  She stood silently as the two women chatted on and on.  She reached down and tied the laces on her dirty boots, pulling them up a bit further and then swiping at the dirt on them.

            She felt it first, the ground vibrating more than usual.  She scrunched up her nose and put her hand to the ground, the steady rumbling getting loader and loader.  When shouting rang out on the edge of the market, her head jumped up, her hand still resting on the roaring earth.  She couldn't see anything through the crowd of people.  Nesi gasped suddenly and placed her hand upon her chest.  Jade stood and finally, through the mass of now frightened people, saw a mass of what looked like war horses charging into the market.  Upon the sturdy mounts where men wielding swords.  And then one of them swung the metal down through an old man near the edge of the market.

            It was perhaps like a dream for Jade.  The first thing she thought of was how the people would at any second run wildly.  And suddenly an image of familiar happenings in Corrus filled her mind momentarily before vanishing with the first wild scream.

            The mass crowd screeched in terror and began running around wildly for escape.  Jade jumped in surprise as Nesi's first response was to faint.  "Nesi!" It was utterly unbelievable.  Jade looked up to see the women Nesi had been speaking to had fled.  Jade pushed back into the stand that they had been shopping at and starred on with wide eyes.

            The horseman came tearing through without mercy, some dismounting to attack weaponless men and women.  Not twenty feet away, a bearded rider swooped down and beheaded the market blacksmith, who was swinging wildly with his branding iron.  The blood sprayed madly and Jade covered her mouth in a gasp of horror.  A cart was pushed back against the stand and Jade jumped away, tripping and falling to the ground on her back.  She sat up and crawled backwards across the packed dirt away from what was in front of her.

            She was picked up by the back of her tunic suddenly, her shirt digging into her neck painfully as she was lifted off her feet and turned.  A man with a sneer looked at her with a smile.  She kicked wildly, catching his groin by luck, and what looked like thorns surrounded by soft green light protruding from where she had planted her foot.  He gasped and dropped her.  She scrambled away from his view and climbed over a fallen body to hide behind.  She was nearly sick when she noticed the women's throat had been cut.  That's when she smelled smoke nearby.  She looked up to see the buildings around them burning madly, the dry wood catching so quickly, the entire grouping would be in flames within a few minutes.

            Jade looked around wildly, trying to find an opening she could get out at.  She noticed a small girl being picked up by one of the men.  She screamed and cried to no avail.  Jade licked her lips in nervousness; she didn't know what to do.  Someone called out her name.  She turned to see a women peeking out of an overturned cart.  It was Glen, the city's best dress maker.  The woman was motioning her over.  Jade quickly stood and ran for all she was worth across the small street.

*****

            Atune sat at the grand table with papers pilled about her.  She flipped through some promising pieces with practiced ease.  The continued hope that any information regarding land deeds in the province being found here kept her searching in earnest.  She flipped to an old parchment that contained the rights to excavation artifacts found on the lands of the Ehle family, the name Numair had sent her.  She ran down the list of properties.  Camile, Sandiot, Heimert, Truslow, Orleon.  Her eyes caught the last with a flash of recognition.  She sat in silence for a few moments calling up her many years of education.  Orleon….she clenched her eyes in concentration.  Orleon had excavation sights not unlike Lady Alanna's adopted father's lands.  Oloa was it?  She couldn't remember.  She slammed the papers down in aggravation.  A clerk passed by and jumped in surprise at the sudden noise.

            "Forgive me," Atune smiled apologetically.   "I was just trying to recall my history lessons."

            The clerk smiled.  "Can I be of any help?"

            "Unless you happen to know what's so special about Orleon's excavations, I don't imagine you can."

            The clerk smiled brightly.  "I'm from around there, grew up in Camile.  Orleon has the old caverns that bury a mile into the earth.  They find countless artifacts from the old ones there.  Caused a lot of trouble back with the last Emperor.  The Lord Ehle wanted to keep them, or at least profit from them, seeing as they're so valuable **and** powerful.  They shut it down when Emperor Kaddar came to the throne.  Didn't have enough workers to excavate when all the slaves were released.

            Atune listened carefully.  "So it is abandoned now?"

            "So I've been told.  No one around for miles.  Much to dry for living conditions.  Orleon has a running river inside the caverns that provided water for the workers.  But food had to be brought in.  It cost a lot of money to keep up.  When they had slaves, they saved a lot of cost on workers.  Without them, money went too quickly to keep it up.  To bad, really.  Some of the most beautiful artifacts in the Carthaki palace come from Orleon.  So powerful, they have to be kept in the Mages wing under 24 hour watch.

            Atune stood up suddenly.  "How do they know it continues to be abandoned?"

            The clerk shrugged.  "No one goes out there.  No point really.  Not unless you go with a large group."

            Atune swooped the papers together, bringing them into one grand pile.  "Thank you."  She had to send out an express to Numair immediately.  This was big.  She was about to stuff the documents into her bag when screaming from the halls caught their attention.  The clerk jumped to the window and gasped.

            "Riders….They're burning the libraries!"

            Atune ran to the window in shock.  "What's going on?"  Without notice, a man came around in view of the great stained glass window, his figure distorted by the cut glass.  He lifted his hand and threw an object at the window.  It flew through the glass.  Atune lifted her hands to shield her eyes as shards of glass few at her.  She screamed in pain as she felt some of the shards hit her eyes.  Her eyes clenched painfully and the clerk screamed in fright as a roaring sound filled the room.  Within seconds the room was blazing hot, Atune felt the licking flames to close.  Unable to open her eyes, she screamed out, her hands reaching for anything to find her way out.

*****

Carthak Capital:

            "Welcome back, Captain."  Numair shook the young man's hand.  "I hear you trapped the rebel that burned down Algar not three days ago."

            Jayson smiled.  "They were a tricky bunch.  I'm afraid that a good number of them got away; nearly 50.  But I think that we've sufficiently depleted their numbers so that they can't do too much damage for a while."

            Numair smiled.  "I'm glad to hear it."

            Jayson smirked.  "You seem in high spirits today, Master Numair.  What could possibly make you smile so?"

            Numair held up some documents.  "We found him."  He smiled triumphantly.

            The Captain stopped short in amazement, his eyes not leaving the documents Numair held.  He reached for them and looked through the papers.

            Numair filled him in.  "Nicholas Ehle of the southern province of Leon.  Grew up in Kenican, attended Banesto University in the South, a very conservative school, may I add.  The sun of a **very** wealthy slave holder, he lost his entire income, the slaves, with the free slave decree the Emperor put out.  Very disgruntled young man.

            The Captain smiled up at him.  "We can trace him now.  We can ask the royal library clerks to find what they can on him."

            "I've sent word to someone in Kilbao to look in the library there.  They may have some more detailed documents concerning the southern provinces.  I hope to hear back from her shortly."

            Jayson nodded.  As soon as any information is found, I'll set out.  I've been waiting to get my hands on him.  Now I know what to call him."

            "He's tricky.  Goes by various names.  His War name is Onam…so we think.  But we've also gotten reports of his name being Alexander.  A few others."

            The young Legionnaire shook his head in exhaustion.  He smiled then.  "We found some more reports from the former regent mage of Truslow, would you like to look at them?"

            Numair's eyes lit up.  "I think I would."  They walked together down the courtyards, the heat of the sun bearing down.  They passed the aid stands.  "I hope the attacks end soon, Captain.  Too many innocent people are dieing.  With the war up north, we can hardly spare the men needed to weed out the rebels."

            Jayson nodded.  "I've had to give up half my men to the northern fight against Serain.  I fear we will loose a few more villages and cities before the Emperor can spare the man power from the north."

            Numair sighed.  "The villages on the northern sea border need as much protection.  Fighting on two fronts is never easy."

            "And I hear the Emperor and King are discussing closing the borders.  Is that true?"

            Numair sighed.  "To much illegal weapon trading is going on across the borders in Carthak.  I believe the Emperor feels the only way to end it is to close down all the borders.  King Jonathan agrees." 

            Jason nodded.  "I had hoped not to have to fight a war.  I thought my years in the Legionnaires would be spent in protection and law enforcement, not hunting down slaughterers."

            Numair smiled in sympathy.  "I understand.  Every good man wishes for a peaceful life to raise a family.

            The Captain smiled.  "Indeed."

            "But you are young still, Captain.  Not even 19.  You have time yet to find yourself a wife."  They both laughed.

            "Perhaps I shall find a wife who will be useful.  I shouldn't like to marry an idle lady, like my father wishes," he joked.

            Numair grinned.  "Be careful what you wish for, a useful wife can be a handful."

            "You speak from experience?" he laughed.

            Numair smiled sadly.  "My wife was more than useful."  He looked at the young man.  "I would hope you'd find someone to love as much as I loved my wife.  It truly was a gift, even if I did loose it much too soon."

            Jayson stopped to look at the tall man.  "Her legacy will live on, Master Numair."

            Numair smiled.  "I believe so.  Being the first Wild Mage comes with a legacy."

            Jayson shook his head.  "That's not what I meant, sir.  I meant your daughter."

            Numair starred at the young man.  "You are an interesting person, Captain Lenex.  Not too many would be so understanding."

            They both looked up to see the main gates opening, the gatekeeper yelling the arrival of a messenger.  A horse came ripping through the courtyard, halting at the first guard.  He dismounted and looked around.  "A message for the Legionnaires! A message for the legionnaires!"

            Jayson stepped up to the man immediately.  "I am Captain Lenex.  What is the message?"

            The man heaved for breath.  There's been another attack to the south…father east.  Kilbao, sir."

            Jayson froze in place, his eyes widening.  Numair pushed forward in alarm.  "When did this happen?" the young Captain asked hoarsely.

            "Yesterday morning, Sir."

            Numair's strained voice called out.  "Are you sure?  
            The man nodded.  "Yes, sir.  A wall guard came into bavallos yesterday afternoon, 20 miles north of Kilbao.  He claimed that the rebels came from the east, breeching the wall in surprise.  Mass amounts of smoke could be seen from bavallos.

*****

            Captain Lenex was shoving the last of his supplies into his horse's packs, shouting orders to his men.  "I want to the aid to follow.  No more than a day behind us, is that clear? Jotson, see to it that there's enough supplies for the healers who ride with us."  He turned around to find himself face to face with Numair.  "Master Numair?"

            "The Emperor has consented to me going with you."

            Jayson looked confused.  "But…you are needed here, Master Salmalin."

            "I'm going with you, Captain."

            Master Numair…we are unlikely to find many survivors.  I would not wish you to be present when we arrive.  It can be…difficult."  He tried to sound gentle.

            Numair barked at him.  "My daughter is in Kilbao, Captain.  I will not just **leave** her!"

            "Sir, I promise I will look for her.  But you are needed here."

            "Do not argue further, Captain.  I'm going."

            Jayson sighed.  He mounted his horse quickly.  "Let's go, men!"

*****

            They arrived at the Kilbao walls the following evening, the sun falling behind the distant horizon.  They could barely see the wall in front of them, but the massive stone wall, when lit by torches, showed scorch marks along its front.  They trotted up to the main entrance, passed by a large amount of bodies from the initial fight.

            Captain Lenex felt his anger rising.  Last ranks, clean up this mess and set up camp inside.  The rest of you, rank out…find survivors!"

Numair rode up next to Lenex.  "I'm going to my manor."

            Jayson looked put out.  "We have to work our way in, Numair.  We cannot go directly to you manor."

            "I can and will!"

            Jayson reached out a hand to his shoulder.  "If you go, and there are still men out there, they could take you down.  What use are you to Jade if you are dead?"

            Numair grit his teeth and turned away.

            They rode by some of the stables and barns.  All were burnt down.  They split up upon reaching the eastern road, stopping every so often to check into homes and work houses.  Numair was on edge, he wanted to get to his home to assure himself that Jade was safe.

            Jayson sighed as the total number of deaths climbed as each minute passed.  They had yet to find a survivor on this road.  "We ride on" He climbed down the burnt stairs of the small house and jogged to his horse.  "The family is in the kitchen, burned."  His face was emotionless, passive.  He'd learned to not feel at the sight of so many slaughtered people.  He would be unable to do his job if he allowed himself to feel pity.  He looked towards a shaken Numair with sadness.  He didn't expect to find anyone alive at the manor.  It would have been sacked thoroughly.  He closed his eyes and cringed at the thought of a green eyed girl's body laying among the ashes.  He didn't want to think about that.  He scolded himself for not being as emotionless with this girl as he was with everyone else.

            They rode on in the darkness, Numair's magic lighting the way slightly.  Finally, they reached the entrance to the manor.  Jayson swallowed in dread at the place.  The entire west wing, the servants quarters, had been burn down.  The main entrance, which seemed to be made of stone and ceramics, lay in crumbles of scorched rock.  They stared at the large house for what seemed like endless minutes.  Numair suddenly flung his leg over the horse and ran towards the house.  Jayson and a few Legionnaires quickly followed.

They pushed their way through the main entrance into the foyer.  Jayson pointed into the servant's quarters.  "Look that way…" he was cut off when Numair jumped forward towards the grand staircase in front of them, yelling out.

"JADE!"  He took the steps three at a time, flying up the stairs in fright.  "Jade! Atune!"

"Numair, wait!"  Jayson cursed and followed the man upstairs, praying the creaking stairs would hold their weight.  He followed Numair down a long passage way that lead to what seemed to be the family rooms.  Numair pushed through a large door that hung from its hinges yelling out his daughter's name.  Jayson entered the room and stopped to look around.  There was no one here.  Not alive or dead.  Numair left the room to look elsewhere.  Jayson looked around in curiosity.

It had obviously once been a girl's room.  The ceramic tiles along the entire wall, while scorched nearly black, still carried the floral design of ivy and vanilla orchids.  In the corner sat a large wooden bed, ashes and ceiling bits fallen on top.  There were countless shelves and drawers holding porcelain dolls that were burnt and deformed.  

            Next to the bed was a bed stand, holding various burned papers and books.  He walked across the room, his stepped cracking as he stepped over a filthy floor.  A large window looked out upon the estate, and what must have been a rather comfortable seating ledge along the windows edge was now wood that nearly fell apart at the touch.  He walked over to the bed and looked at where the pillow lay in ashes.  He swiped his gloved hand across it idly and noticed something.  It must have been hidden under the pillow before the fire.  When he swept away the ashes with his hand with more purpose he could see the object more clearly.  He picked it up.  It was a necklace of some kind; it was leather cord, now stiff from the fire.  At the end hung a badger's claw.  Jayson looked closely at it.  The claw was still white and untouched.

*****

They'd searched the manor up and down; found many dead servants, including the Mistress Messina.  But they hadn't found Lady Atune or Jade. 

Jayson was somewhat relieved, but he feared that the hope that they hadn't been here would soon be crushed with the knowledge that they had been somewhere else in Kilbao during the attack.

Numair was beside himself with worry, and was fairly useless as far as Jayson was concerned.  He would be of no help finding anything except his daughter; which was understandable.

They were mounting their horses to continue on when one of the other ranks joined them.

"What have you found?" Jayson questioned.

"We went to the libraries.  There were a handful of survivors.  We left a few guards with the healers there.

"Do we know who the survivors are?"

"A few clerks, Sir.  No one of name. Except maybe a lady.  Not from around here though, doesn't even look Carthaki."

Numair's head jerked up.  "Blond hair, blue eyes?"

The man scrunched his nose.  "I think blonde, her hair is fairly dirty.  I could not tell what color eyes.  They were severely injured in the fire.  I believe her name was Masson."

Numair breathed in sharply.  "That is my daughter's tutor.  Was there a child with her?"

"No children where found, sir."

Numair cursed his luck.  "She is injured, the lady?"

"Yes sir.  She is with the healers now."

Numair sighed.  "She isn't here at the manor, or with Atune at the libraries…there are no forests for her to hide in…where could she have gone?"

*****

It was nearly morning when Jayson finally made it to the market place.  This is where the majority of the slaughter had occurred.  There were bodies everywhere, and even he had trouble keeping his stomach from revolting against what his eyes saw.  He looked around and directed his men accordingly.  Once they had assured themselves that all survivors would be taken care of, they would begin their tracking.  It was best to begin in the morning anyway.

Numair sat among a tent of soldiers who were resting, his head in his hands.  His worry eating away at him.  Jayson noticed a woman trying to get through to the tent.  He reached for her.  "I'm sorry, miss.  That tent is for the soldiers."

"I was just trying' to speak with Master Salmalin, Sir."

Numair lifted his head at his name.  He blinked.  "Glen.  I am happy to see you are alright."

"Thank you, sir."  She seemed nervous and on the verge of tears.

"What is it, Glen?" he asked.

"Sir, I noticed your daughter here during the attack."

Numair jumped to his feet, quickly jogging up to her.  Jayson stepped up as well, his own sudden hope making him think twice.  Numair looked on the verge of tears himself.  "Where was she, Glen? Do you know where she is?"

The small dark woman lowered her face.  When they attacked, I hid under that overturned cart," she pointed towards a large cart with various arrows stuck in it.  "I was so scared, Sir.  I was shaking so hard.  But then I saw Miss Jade among the crowd.  She was very frightened, she was.  I don't know why she was by herself.  I thought I'd seen her with the cook early in the day.  But she was just all alone."

Numair swallowed hard.  "Yes…?"

The woman trembled.  "I called out to her.  Told her to come hide with me.  She ran to me."  She began to cry.  "There were so many people running about, there were points I couldn't see where she was.  One second she was running towards me, the next time I saw her, she was on the ground, not moving."  
            Numair let out a cry of despair.  Jayson cut in.  "Then what happened?"

The woman was sobbing.  "A man with a sword picked her up.  She didn't move at all.  He took her to a cart at threw her in, with what looked like lots of other children.  They left then."  She collapsed into a chair and cried harder.

Jayson starred at the woman in disbelief.  

*****

They had split up.  Half the Legionnaires were to follow tracks that lead south, the rest to follow tracks that lead west.  Numair had been indecisive about which way to go.  Jayson had promised that he would go which ever way Numair did not.  So in the end, Numair went west, Jayson went south; splinting up with a promise from Jayson that if he should find Jade, he would look after her.

He felt the anger rise up in him whenever he thought about what the rebels were doing.  It was quite obvious now that they were taking children as slaves.  What perplexed him the most was that he didn't know where anyone would take slaves.  By the third day of travel south, it had become obvious that the road south was being traveled by various carts; which meant, more than likely, the children had been taken this way.  He pushed his men harder than normal; the knowledge of children being used as slaves pushing his men to work harder, pushing _him_ harder.

*****

Hope you like it.

Karigan Marie


	29. Cage of rope

            Ok…next chapter

**IMPORTANT: **

**THIS CHAPTER DEALS WITH SOME PRETTY HARSH STUFF!  I'M GIVING IT A RATING OF PG-13 BORDERING IT ON R-RATED FOR THE SEXUAL REFERENSES. **

**            SOME OF THE HORRORS OF SLAVERY IS THE SAD TRUTH OF SEXUAL ABUSE.  PLEASE, BE AWARE THAT THIS MAY NOT BE SUITIBLE FOR YOUNGER READERS!**

The Secret Magic: 2: Uncontrollable

Chapter:  Cage of Rope

By: Karigan Marie

*****

He cursed himself again for not seeing this coming.  It made all the sense in the world.  The enemy had diverted his attention away from their intended target.  As soon as he'd turned his head and looked away, they had swooped in and massacred an entire city.  Captain Lenex berated himself endlessly as the large ranking of Legionnaires held a steady canter down the dry road.  He'd thought that, having arrested the majority of the rebel group that had attacked the village of Algar, they'd have no chance of moving quickly enough to form any large attacks, something that couldn't be held off by village warriors.  Being so far the West, Algar only had two major roads leading out of it; anyone traveling outside the roads would have to travel through large amounts of dry dessert before reaching any kind of water supply.

So it was now safe to assume that an even larger group of rebels was currently traveling the central roads, which answered the question of why they seemed to be attacking major villages with such quickness.  No attacks had been synchronized; all had been one after another, never the same time.  And he had stupidly assumed that meant there was one major group out there, with a few stragglers to pick off.  While the entire time, they'd managed to time their attacks to better conceal themselves.

He clenched his back teeth again as another slur of rather offensive language came to mind.  He'd been trained better than this! Now his mistake had cost countless lives and the enslavement of countless children.  He gave his white stallion a swift kick to speed up, hoping to gain just another minute on the band of rebels.

One of his commanding officers, Lieutenant Dalig, rode up next to him.  "Captain, we'll need to stop soon.  The horses need rest and water.  And the men are ready to drop."

Jayson grit his teeth and sighed.  Holding up his left hand, he signaled a halt.  "Set up camp!  Turn out your mounts; get some food and go to sleep!  We leave at first light!"  His command lead to quick movement; it was already late into the evening, which left little time after duties for sleep.

He dismounted and handed his mount to one of is men.  He strode over to a grouping of desert bushes and rocks, clenching his fists repeatedly.  In a sudden fit of anger, he slammed his foot into the hard rock with a roar.

"We'll catch them, Captain."

He hadn't heard Dalig come up behind him.  He turned quickly to look at him.  Trying to get his temper under control, he clenched his teeth and breathed through his nose.  He wasn't successful.  He swore vividly and kicked the rock a few more times for good measure.  "Children, Dalig! Children!"  He ran his hands roughly through his hair; it'd grown slightly shaggy over the last few months while on the road, he'd have to get it cut soon.  "I new they were capable of slaughtering innocent people, I new they were capable of slaughtering CHILDREN!  I didn't thing they'd go as far as to ENSLAVE the children! Death would be more merciful that enslavement by these animals!"

Dalig sighed deeply.  He'd been in the Legionnaires with Lenex for close to three years, in the same rank for the last two; the Captain was notorious for his temper.  There were few who would be willing to stand around long enough to weather the storm.  He'd learned the best way to handle the man was to stay patient.  "We'll catch them.  They were only four days ahead of us.  With children, they won't be able to travel quickly.  At the pace we've been going for the last week, I wouldn't be surprised if we caught up to them within two days."

Jayson ran his hands through his hair again, this time gripping it tightly and clenching his eyes and teeth.  "I should have seen this coming!" he admitted.

"None of us saw it coming, Jayson," he told his friend soothingly.  "They blind-sided us."

"I was trained to watch out for tricks like these, trained to be able to predict that kind of action.  I was so proud of the fact that we'd captured the group responsible for Algar, that I let it cloud my judgment, told myself I'd swept up the larger groups."  Jayson sat on the abused rock in defeat, his head falling to his hands.  'How many children are paying for my pride?"

Dalig was silent only for a moment.  "It's done and over with, Jayson.  Now is the time for action.  Now that we know what's been going on, we can fight it." He stooped down to get his friend's attention.  "Now is the time to find the children of Kilbao and bring them back to what is left of their families.  You cannot let quilt for something you could not have prevented interfere in what we must do now."

Jayson clenched his eyes and breathed deeply.  Finally, after a few last fortifying breaths, he stood.  He grinned lopsidedly at his friend.  "Thank you, Colin."

Dalig patted him on the back.  "Come now, it won't do for your men to see you so out of sorts.  What would they do with themselves if their fearless Captain lost his edge?"

Jayson snorted and walked back to camp.

*****

Five days earlier:

She was curled up into a tight ball; and when she came crashing back into consciousness, her body gave an all-over body tick that made her muscles scream in pain.  Jade felt her body being jostled to and fro, the uncomfortable ground digging into her sore muscles.  She cracked open her eyes, which objected greatly and clenched them again immediately.  The light had screamed in and felt as if it burned straight through to her retinas, and she suddenly felt a sharp throbbing at the bottom of her skull.

"Hold still."

Jade jerked at the voice.  "Wha…?"

"Hold still.  You don't want them to see you've woken up yet."  The voice was soft; whispered so that Jade, herself, could hardly hear it over what seemed a constant roaring sound.  She cracked her eyes again, giving herself time to adjust to the brilliant light of day.

The first thing she noticed…was a leg laying right next to her face.  She blinked a few times.  She swallowed against her dry throat and tried to crane her head to see what was going on, because if her head wouldn't stop pounding soon, the constant roaring she heard was going to make it worse.  The leg belonged to a girl much younger than she, lying down in a similar position as she, and for all appearances, looked asleep.  And was that….was she lying on moving wood? What **was** that constant roaring going on all around her?

A voice behind her startled her again.  "Try not to move too much; you don't want to attract attention to yourself."

She used her hands to push herself up slightly with her hands, only enough to get a look behind her.  She met up with a pair of grey eyes, set in a sunken face.  This girl appeared to be a few years older, maybe twelve or thirteen.  It was hard to tell.  Her overall brown skin was marked with patches of what looked like white skin, as if the pigment itself had disappeared.  The contrast between the two colors was vivid and eye-jarring.  Her bottom lip was full and looked as if it were infected with some kind bacteria…sores oozed puss slowly.  One eye was significantly larger than the other, and her eyebrows were uneven.  Her hair was greasy and dirty, its black thick Carthaki locks knotted in so many places.  Jade blanched noticeably.  The girl was positively hideous.

"I'm sorry," Jade crocked.  "What's…where am I?"

The girl's eyes shifted to look around.  "In the Dark Lord's pit of fire."  Jade's eyes grew wide at the statement.  "Look around, girly."

Jade's eyes flashed around herself for the first time.  She was in some kind of cage…wooden, mostly.  The planks beneath were harsh and offered no padding.  Around them….on the edges of the wood planks were rope bars, closely set together to prevent anyone from getting in and out.  She had been resting against the side of the contraption.  Inside, with her, where at least twenty other girls; all jammed in to barely have room to stretch their bodies.  When she looked outside of it, she was surprised again.  They were moving.  She saw various landmarks move along.  And when the entire picture came into focus, she could see that they were moving along on a very large cart, pulled along by at least 10 horses.  In front of them was another cart just the same; and behind, no different.  Men in black and silver garments walked alongside the carts with swords and bows.

Jade felt a rather sudden nervousness set in.  "I don't understand."

The girl sighed.  In a soft voice, she said, "Those are the men that attacked Kilbao, remember? They've taken all us children to sell us on the southern slave market.  We've already stopped twice for sales."

Jade felt fear creep into her heart.  "Slaves? But, there aren't any slaves in Carthak.  It's illegal."

The girl rolled her eyes.  "I don't think they have much care for what's legal or not, girly."

Jade felt her head throb anew.  She gently lifted her hand to the back of her head and hissed when she felt it sting.  She brought her hand forward again and noticed dried blood crusted over her fingers.  "When…"  She wasn't sure what to even think right now.

"You've been out for almost two days."

Jade blinked.  She tried to process that; but felt her whole body tremor from the shock.  "Where are they taking us?"

"I think to one of the southern cities.  Truslow or Boscolo or Orleon or Chasen.  That's the only thing south of here.  I'm inclined to think either Truslow or Orleon; the other two are a bit too far away."  The girl finally looked at her again.  She blinked a few times and seemed to give a look of pity.  "You're rather pretty."

Jade didn't know why she'd said that.  "Umm…thank you?"

The girl turned her head away with a sigh of exasperation.  "That's not a good thing."

"Oh."

The girl swallowed.  The pretty ones have to go into the rebel's tents at night."

Jade's entire body froze over in fear.  "Oh."

"You have pretty eyes." The girl said sadly.  "They'll notice you right away."

Jade had never liked her rather piercing eyes; she had never hated them so much as she did at this moment.  She felt her bottom lip tremble.

The girl looked at Jade from the corner of her eyes.  "If you want, I could make you look different, look…ugly."

Jade scrunched her nose in confusion.  "Huh…?"

The girl gestured to her Jade's face.  "I have the gift…not much, but, I'm fairly good at illusion spells.  I could make you look like me.  They haven't gone near me yet."

Jade swallowed.  "You're not…you're not ugly."

The girl's lips twitched in amusement.  "I don't really look like this."

That made Jade blink.  "You don't?"

She shook her head in response.  "Didn't think my talent would ever come in handy.  Works like a charm against nasty men."  She looked at Jade.  "They see you and you'll be in one of their tents for sure tonight."

Jade was nearly sick with the idea.  "You can make me look like…like you?"

A nod.

"Um, ok…ok, would you…please?"

The girl shifted slightly.  She brought up her right hand and slowly ran it over Jade's face.  It felt warm and tingly.  Within a handful of seconds, it was over.  Jade didn't have a way to look at herself, but she didn't _feel _any different.  "What did you do?"

"I gave you some burn scars on you face, and your hair looks like it's falling out in patches.  I made your eyes dull blue.  You know, nothing makes you look terribly different except your eyes…you don't look like the same person without the green."

Jade looked down.  "Thank you."

"No problem.  Don't make any harsh movements or get to emotional…the spell will fall away if you do.  Try and sleep, girly.  None of us sleep at night around here."

It wasn't too hard to do just that.  The pain in her head and her overall weariness made it surprisingly easy to drift off into an uncomfortable slumber.

*****

She was jarred awake when the cart suddenly stopped.  Around her, all the girls shifted and sat up, low whispers of fear could be heard.  Jade blinked into the night sky, warm and musky.  They all say at attention when a man walked by and threw in various loafs of bread.  In an instant, the girls threw themselves upon the bread.  Jade jumped back in fear as half the loaf that had come flying into her lap was ripped away from her by one other girl.  She quickly held it protectively.  Those who were fortunate enough to have gotten pieces of the bread engulfed there's within seconds.  Jade, following the group, quickly shoved down the bread that was left.  She wasn't very hungry; she was actually quite queasy.  But something told her she wouldn't be getting to much food anytime soon, so she swallowed all she could.

Within minutes, the group was silent again; there was an overall held breath as they all waited for what came next.  Jade sat silently, fear creeping into her.  She was shivering slightly, but her body seemed to be still in shock.  The men moved around and set up camp quickly and efficiently.  Within half an hour, the entire camp was set up and fires lit.

And then a grouping of men walked towards the cage, stepping up and entering the group.  All the girls crowded together, praying to be unseen, clutching hands and a few even began to cry.  There were five men, and they searched the group for the ones they wanted.  One man reached down and hauled a very pretty teenager to her feet.  Her thick rough hair, though dirty and tangled, flowed down her back.  Her black eyes widened in terror and she tried to kick away.  She cried out to what looked like a friend, who sat back in fear.  The man roughly pushed her out the cart into another man's arms and continued to look around.  He picked an extremely dark girl next, not much older than Jade.  The girl shrieked and kicked but was also taken away.  He continued his picks along with the four others until only 8 of them remained in the cart.  Jade had been passed by, each time her heart had threatened to burst in fear, but she remained frozen in place.  The men left the cart and pushed the screaming and crying girls into the tent area, and, from other carts, other girls were pushed by, she even noticed a few boys disappearing behind various white canopies.  Jade could only stare on.  The girl who had changed her looks earlier shivered.

"That was horrid," whispered Jade.

"It gets worse," the girl said evenly.

Within ten minutes, she was proven right.  Shrieks and cries could be heard all around, none actually, from the carts.  Jade felt bile begin to rise in her throat.  She clenched her eyes.  "Oh, Goddess."

"Ignore it." Was the sad reply.  "Just ignore it."

Jade shook her head.  "I can't…" she whimpered.  Images flew into her head.  Images of something she didn't know about; images she had never seen but had heard of.  They grew steadily worse as the screams continued.  When images of Atune filling the place of those girls slammed into her mind, she felt herself heave.  She turned back and vomited off the edge of the cart, repeatedly emptying her stomach, screams filling her mind.  When she opened her eyes, she noticed that the shrubbery that had been around the side of the road was now ash.  She turned back around and placed her hands over her ears.  The cries of pain didn't come from the outside anymore, but from the inside.  She had them in her head now, new what was happening to them; it didn't help to cover her ears.  She felt a gentle arm wrap around her shoulders.  She leaned into the girl and curled into a ball, trying to ignore what was so close.

She wondered if she could use her magic to help anyone, but the fear of hurting more than she helped quickly squashed that thought.  In any case, she didn't even know how to call on her magic, so the idea was dead in the water to begin with.  She curled tighter into the slightly larger body that had offered itself to her.  She curled as tightly into herself as possible.  In a moment of despair she felt herself sob out her fear – "Someone take me away from this!"  She felt a spasm tear through her body, her magic.  Quickly she rained it in, got control over herself, but her body still shook from shock.

"What's your name?" came the soft question.

"Jade…." Came the weak reply.  She shivered against the draft.

"Mine's Liana.  Tell me about your parents, Jade."

"Wha…?"  She clenched her eyes at a particularly loud scream.

"Tell me about your parents.  What are they like?"

Jade looked up in disbelief.  But she was stopped short by the silent tears that streamed down the older girls face.  She looked down and tucked herself closer.  "My father's fighting in the war right now, he's a mage…" she began.  It continued through the night, her storytelling.  Rehashing every last detail of information about her life.  There was no joy in telling them, only remembrance.  Only something that filled the mind with anything that wasn't the screams that never ended.

*****

Unaware to anyone, not even the small green-eyed girl herself, the chain of events that were set in motion that night would for ever change the lives of everyone in the mortal realms.  Rarely does any one action have such cataclysmic results.  Oh, everything has its cause and effect, one thing always leads to another.  But this night, something of the most peculiar nature happened, something that not even the eerie magic of the mighty firebirds could have predicted; a butterfly effect if you will.  After all, it was only a matter of chance that the rebel band had decided to call upon Kilbao instead of Lebina, a small city to the east of the former.  What would have been different, if the other had been chosen? That answer can never be foreseen.

But on the night that Jade sat within the confines of her cage, awake, for the first time, her fear, her magic reached just far enough to catch the notice of someone or some_thing_ that we haven't heard from in quite a long time.

The silent plea that vibrated through the earth through the weakest of roots in the dry dessert continued on, beyond most people's reach of imagination.  Being so far South, after all, means that the magic will _reach_ new places.  And so the plea, laced with ancient magic, ran along the vines and roots of the great southern dry lands of Carthak, creating woe through the entire flora for their daughter; it passed into the underground moss and mold that grew in the caverns and crevices of the great frozen mountains that spanned nearly one thousand miles.  Beyond that, it ripped by the great green plains until at last it reached the great southern forest.  Here, the flora has such power, such understanding, that it could not refuse its daughter's plea.  But the flora cannot upset the balance.  It cannot personally act out, not so drastically; there were rules, after all.  And so here, among the forest with so much magical life inside it, the case was brought before the only creatures other than the Gods themselves that could understand its majestic voice.

And here, an old debt was remembered. And a bargain was made, a deal between the two lives.  And it was decided.

*****

When the girls were thrown back into the cart in the early morning, everyone was silent.  Jade couldn't take her eyes of them.  One of the girls walked back to her spot, arms crossed in front of her, holding closed her ripped and tattered blouse.  Her face was locked onto her own two feet and she walked funny, as if movement from her legs caused her discomfort.  She sported a rather large bruise on her upper left temple and several cuts along her arms.  She curled into her spot, trying to disappear into a corner.  Another girl, the one who had reached so desperately for her friend, fell into those arms now, and wept openly.  The others moved in the same way, either highly emotional or frighteningly silent.  The girl that had been on the opposite side of Liana curled into her spot with an emotionless stare.  Jade shuddered to think that one morning she would be coming back from the tents looking so _empty_.

Within an hour, the cart was pulled into motion and they began their southern trek again.  And this set the pace for the next seven days and seven nights.  At the end of each day, bread and water was thrown into the rope cage and Jade would have to fight to get even a small piece of it or a ladle of water.  There were buckets in the cage, for them to use as a privy.  But there was no way to wash or clean themselves, and each day wore on slower and slower in the heat of the blazing sun.  In the evening, a group of men would come to them and yank out several of them.  Every night, Jade prayed she wouldn't be chosen, each night she was passed by, thanks to the magic of Liana, who also was passed by every time.  But then the screams would come and Jade would feel such a force of quilt she'd never known before.  If all the girls were privileged to Liana's magic, they wouldn't have been chosen either.  A handful of girls were picked nearly every single night; and they stopped struggling after the first few times.

They stopped twice for sales.  And their group of twenty or so dwindled to twelve on the second night of sales.  This caused more than a little panic within the group of girls who never spoke to each other.  With less of them in the cage, it was now almost certain they would be picked the following night for the men's fun.  Jade hoped that her appearance would deter any from her.  Over the last few days, the back of her head had begun to throb consistently and was very sensitive to the touch.  Liana had looked at it one night while they sat listening to the frightened cries of the night and told her it looked infected and what on earth had she been hit with?  Along with the lack of food and little water, her body was weakening dramatically, her skin turning ashen with weariness.  She had very little energy to even stand up and walk around the small cage in the middle of the night when other girls dared to move around.  And a few times she caught herself wondering if it would be so bad to go to sleep and never wake up again.

The cart began to move and they were off for the day again.  Jade laid herself down on the planks, resting her head on Liana's lap, the girl never seemed to want to lie down, and she was always on alert.  But Jade noticed that the countless days of little sleep had gotten the better of the older girl, and she lay back against the ropes now, completely asleep.  Jade closed her eyes and ordered herself to dream of better things.

*****

Sir Alanna of Trebond knocked softly on the great wooden door.  At the quiet 'enter' she pushed though.  She stood in silence as she observed her king and friend.  He sat in a chair pulled up to his desk, papers stun out all around him.  In front of him was a new one, one she hadn't known was there.  It carried the Royal Carthaki seal.  She looked at Jonathan.  He looked worn and tired and seemed to carry a new wave of depression.  His beautiful ice blue eyes seemed dulled somewhat and his coal black hair had a healthy grey streak in it.  She swallowed the last few months had been hard on everyone, war always was.  She knew she didn't look any better.  Her muscles were sore all too often now and she'd been having her own crisis over the grouping of grey hairs she had found in her on fiery locks.  The last two years had been difficult for her and her family.  Having lost her oldest son, George and her had been desperately trying to keep the family together.  The war, as unwelcome as it was, brought them closer.  Both Eleni and Miles were determined to fight against those who had killed their elder brother.  George was no different.  She, herself, had noticed that they had united under this same cause.  She prayed to the Goddess she would not loose any of three that were left of her family.

She stood here now looking upon a man who had been her king for the better half of her life, and her friend for the majority of it.  She new he needed a friend now.  Whatever news he had just received, it had caused him to despair greatly.  And with Thayet on the Eastern front directing the battle there, Alanna wanted to help him.  "Jon, what is it?"

He looked up.  "I just received a letter from the Emperor."  Alanna held her breath.  "We close the borders in two days."  She blinked, this had been coming.  Rebels had come into Tortall and had started raiding villages just as they had in Carthak, not to mention the attacks Scanran raiders had been plaguing the northern front with.  With the northern and eastern fronts in Tortall and the Northern and internal fronts in Carthak, the only way to keep some semblance of order was to shut down the borders.  All of them.  In Carthak _and _in Tortall.  Nothing would get through except those carrying royal permission on their bodies.  It would hurt trade, a lot.  But it was necessary.  It also meant the war would last much longer than had been originally estimated.

"We new this was coming, Jon."

He nodded.  "I know."

"Than what's wrong?"  He seemed to grow sadder.

"The Emperor has written to me about something else."  And this was it.  This was not going to be good.  She braced herself.  "It's about Numair."  She almost blacked out at the thought.  Had he become a casualty?

"What about him?"

Jon sighed.  "He's gone to Kilbao."  Alanna shoulders relaxed at the thought he was still alive.  But why go to Kilbao?  "Kilbao has been burnt to the ground, Alanna.  Rebels attacked not a week ago."

She froze.  "Jon…" she felt her heart drop.

"Jade had gone missing.  And the Emperor tells me the Legionnaires have reported an underground child slave route in the southern provinces."

Alanna felt tears form in her eyes.  "A slave?"  She imagined the utter fear that Numair must be going through right now.  She had lost her Thom, but at least she knew his fate, that he was at least safe with the Dark Lord.  But to be taken into slavery…and they had been raiding in Tortall!  She jumped.  "And the raids here, you don't think…"

"I don't know…but I want an answer to it as soon as humanly possible."  
            She nodded.  "I'll get on top of that."  Her thoughts went back to the small girl and she felt tears role down her face.  "Oh, Jon…"

"With the borders closing, I cannot send any more men into Carthak to find the rebels."  And she realized this had been what had made him so depressed.  He could not help.

She nodded.  "I'll go speak with Raoul right now."

He nodded.  She turned and walked out.  She had imagined her later years in life would be spent in some kind of peace.  She wondered if she would ever see peace again.

*****

A/N: This chapter is pretty harsh, as you can tell.  I know it's really sad and depressing but I'm trying to be brutally honest with my work.  The next chapter: 'He who does Evil' will be the last installment of this story.  It isn't very happy, as I've said before.  However, I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised when I start the next story, 'Whisperings'.  Also be aware, that I will be leaving a lot of questions unanswered in this story, and many questions from the last story continue to be unanswered; have a little faith.  By the end of the series, I will have answered them all.

**PLEASE REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**


	30. He Who Does Evil

A/N: ok …..last chapter of the story!  Here we go

*****

The Secret Magic: 2: Uncontrollable

Chapter 30: **He who does Evil**

*****

            Jade surged into awareness when she felt herself inhale water.  She sat up coughing and sputtering as a new wave of water came splashing over her body.  Around her she heard other girls doing the same.  She finally managed to open her eyes and look around her.  It was dark.  She hadn't even felt the halt of the cart carrying the 12 girls inside.  Apparently, Liana hadn't felt it either; she was in the process of coughing up the water she had woken up to.  They must have been beyond exhaustion to not have woken up.  Jade blinked and looked up.  There were three rebels throwing buckets of water at them.  "You all _smell_ like rotten fish!  Come on, now!  Let's get you cleaned **up**!  A new spray of water came tearing out the bucket, drenching them.  Jade wiped the water from her eyes as she swallowed the water that she caught in her hands.  Her parched throat rejoiced at the cool liquid.  She felt Liana shift next to her and gasp.

            Jade looked over and froze.  The girl sitting next to her didn't look like Liana.  Jade blinked.  She had skin black as midnight, but no white patches.  It was smooth and soft even under all the dirt.  Her dark lips were a lighter shade and her nose was small and slight.  She had almond shaped eyes that slanted in towards her nose.  Black eyelashes lined brilliant white that was contrasted by piercing brown irises.  Her eyebrows arched high on her forehead which flowed into hundreds of beautifully braided black hair.  Jade's jaw dropped.

            Liana looked downright terrified for a moment.  "The spell broke free! I can see your real face!"

            Jade shook.  "I can see yours too."

            Liana reached for her face and tried to call up her gift.  She let out a moan of despair when nothing happened.  "I can't!"  The exhaustion had gotten to her.  She could no more concentrate on her gift than she could for walking straight at the moment.  Neither girl noticed when bread was thrown into the cage, and the other girls took the opportunity to eat more.  Jade pushed herself into the corner and trembled with fear, wrapping green laced fingers around her knees.

            They sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting the frightening few moments that would come, and at this point, wouldn't end.  Jade was slightly surprised to hear Liana's frightened whisper.  "You know, none of them have the gift."

Jade turned her head towards Liana.  "What?"

"They don't have the gift," she repeated.  "None of them."

Jade closed her eyes and sighed.  "So?"

"It's just sort of weird, is all."

"How can you tell?"

Liana scrunched her eyes.  "People with the gift can see others with the gift.  Can't you?"

"No."

"But…you have the gift."  
            "No I don't"

"But…"

"I don't." she said flatly.

"Well, anyway.  I just thought it odd."

When the familiar group of men stepped up to make their choices for the night, Liana nearly choked in fear.  The first man to pass by stopped to stare at them both.  He leaned down and took Liana by the arm.  She shrieked in protest, kicking and screaming madly.  Putting his weight into his actions, the man threw her across the wooden cart.  She fell and tumbled out into the grasp of two other rebels, carrying her jerking body away.  Jade froze in terror.

The man turned back to her smiled.  He leaned down and starred her in the eyes.  With a callused finger, he traced one of her eyebrows.  "Pretty eyes…"  She caught her breath and jerked back.  His smile vanished a second before he reached down and grabbed her by the collar.  She was lifted off her feet and dangled in his grasp, feeling her body unable to move in fright.  He finally set her on her feet and pushed her off the cart.  She fell the three feet into a man's arm and felt her ankle give.  She shook her head and tried to plead with them, but nothing came out of her mouth.

*****

            Jayson was about to signal the halt for the night when he noticed his scout gallop over the next crest of dry road.  He sat up in his saddle and kicked his horse into a canter to meet up with his man.  "Captain, not five miles from here, they're camped and set for the night!"

            Jayson swung his stallion around, pulled out his sword, lifted it into the air and yelled to his men.  "LEGIONNAIRES, WEAPONS!"

*****

            She was taken by a grouping of white tents.  Dragged was more the case, she had planted her feet and refused to move them.  Light green sparkles were the only sign of magic that were left by the friction of her feet.  They turned a corner and Jade was shoved into a tent.

            She froze and looked around wildly with her eyes.  It was an officer's tent, she could tell by the relatively nice set up.  She jumped in surprise when she looked to the bed and noticed a very fat man laying on it, snoring, and a wine bottle in his hand.  She stepped back in fear, but he didn't move; not one inch.  She took a step closer to see and he let out a rather load snore.

            She didn't know weather to cry in relief or scream.  She looked around madly for any kind of weapon.  There weren't any; probably to make sure that the girls who came in here didn't get too smart.  She peaked out the flap and was surprised to see no one guarding it.  They really must have thought he was awake and ready for her.  She shivered at the thought.  She stepped out and hid behind a table that was placed by the opening.  When a few men passed by she crawled across a space between tents and hid in a dark corner.  If she could get to the edge of camp…she shot across another opening.  She heard a man begin to walk by and without thinking shoved herself under the flap of another tent.

            She heard movement behind her and she turned quickly in fright.  She had to hold on to a table when her eyes focused.  In the middle of the tent was a small bed. Lying there was a crusty looking man, with shaggy hair and light skin.  He was face down and moving around.  Under him was a flailing Liana, mouth gagged, tears blurring her eyes.  Her shirt was ripped open, and the man's gross hands were all over her.  He was in the process of pulling down his own breeches.  Jade felt her heart stop within her chest.  She gasped and lurched back, nearly tripping over her feet.

            She heard a strangled cry pass through Liana's gag.  All reason took a flying leap through the window.  Jade felt the acrid taste of anger fill her mouth, the roaring in her ears was like a crimson wave that flowed over into her sight.  She reached down and picked up a flat piece of wood that was being used to prop up a wobbly chair.  She ran towards the bed with a screeching yell, lifting the board over her head with a new surge of power.  "**Leave her ALONE!"  **With the last yelled word, she felt her magic rip through her stomach and up her arms into the wood with a force she wasn't familiar with, her eyes spilling over and glowed a hard deep green that nearly lit the room.  She let the piece of wood surge down onto the man's head, letting her anger fuel her weak body.

            The load crack resonated through the room and Jade's head jerked to the side when she felt warm liquid splash her face.  She'd fallen to her knees with the force of her blow and she breathed heavily to regain control of her magic.  She looked up to see the man lying on top of Liana's frozen form.  Jade nearly swallowed her tongue at the sight.

            The man's head had been cracked open, smashed partly in and now lay open to the world.  Blood trickled heavily down his frozen in death face and fell onto a stunned Liana.  The trapped girl pushed the body aside and crawled away, wiping an enormous amount of blood and brain off her in disgust.  Jade starred in shock.  She looked down at her hands, which still held the bloody board and quickly dropped it.  She wiped some wetness from her face and was horrified to see dark red blood come off.  She turned towards a mirror in the corner and looked at herself.

            Blood had splattered all over her, from head to the bottom of her tunic, which had originally been white.  Her face was speckled heavily with the warm blood and only a small smudge on her cheek indicated what she had just smeared away.  Her skin, being pale from lack of food and water contrasted sharply with the thick fluid.  With all this, all she could seem to focus on where her eyes, which continued to glow brightly.  After a few seconds, they dimmed and returned to their normal vibrancy.  She blinked.  And she saw what she really was for the first time.  She'd denied it for so long, but it was true.  All the things the people in Tortall had said about her; all the things Molina had said.  She was dangerous.

            Liana ripped the gag from her mouth and stood on trembling legs, pulling her blouse closed with trembling fingers.  "Jade…"

            Jade looked back to the man who lay on the ground, swallowing hard.  "You should go."

            "What?"

            "I think if you go two more tents down, it's the end of the encampment.  You can probably make a run for it."

            Liana smiled.  She ran over the man's body and searched his pockets, producing 10 gold nobles, a sheet of folded parchment falling to the ground.  She reached for Jade's hand.  "Let's go!"  Jade pulled her hand away.  "What's wrong?"

            Jade blinked blankly.  "I killed him."

            Liana's face jutted forward in disbelief.  "Yes.  And?"

            "I _killed_ him."  It came out as nothing more than a whimper.

            "Jade! He was going to _Rape_ me! You did the right thing!"

            She shook her head.  "I could have just knocked him out.  I didn't have to use…I didn't have to kill him."

            Liana surged forward and grabbed her hand.  "Jade! You didn't have a choice.  Now, come on…we can get out of here, maybe make it to the next town over!"

            Jade reached for the fallen parchment and opened it.

            "What are you doing? Let's go!"  Liana was getting desperate.

            Jade looked at the paper with surprise.  It was a royal treaty…with the Scanran King.  She read it over quickly.  It only stated a few details; promises of land ownership over Carthak when it fell…but the Scanran King had placed the demand that no slavery would be permitted – the council of ten prohibited it-in return he would send reinforcements through the borders to the rebels to conquer Carthak.  Jade could not believe her eyes.  She looked at the name it was directed to but didn't recognize it – Alexander Nicholas Ehle-

            "Liana…" She was about to tell her what she found when a man pushed through the entrance.

            "Merrill! You done with that girl yet?"  He froze when he finally noticed the situation.

            "Run!" Liana yelled.  They both made a mad dash in opposite directions, the man, stalled in confusion, finally turned and ran after the smaller of the two girls.  Jade ripped through the back of the tent and back over a grouping a chairs.  She ran right out of the encampment into open darkness.  She didn't hear anyone behind her, but she kept running anyways.  After a few hundred feet she suddenly lost her footing and slid roughly down a steep incline, catching her arm on a large rock making her yelp.  She continued to slide without stopping, sand and rocks sliding all around her in the darkness.  She tried to slow herself down, but every foot she went farther, the more rocks she loosed and made her fall farther.  The ground flattened suddenly and then ended.  She felt her body drop over an edge as she desperately grabbed for anything.

            She caught herself just as both her legs hung in the air, the edge of the ground digging into her chest; she couldn't hear the rocks hitting any sort of bottom.  She couldn't see anything and the fear that she was about to fall off a potentially large ledge gripped her heart.  She grunted as she tried to pull herself back up.

            "Jade!"

            She looked up into blackness.  "Liana?" she whispered harshly.

            "I can't see you!  Where are you?"  
            "Over here!"  She said urgently.  "I'm hanging of some kind of ledge"

            "Keep talking so I can find you!"

            "…Why are you here?"

            "Someone's attacking the encampment! Can't you hear it?"

            Jade listened momentarily.  There! Not to far away.  She heard some yelling.  "Yes."

            "The man stopped chasing you once you broke from the encampment.  Someone yelled for him to get his sword.  Am I getting any closer?"

            "I think so.  Oomph!"  She felt her hands slip.

            "Jade?"

            "Hurry up!  I'm slipping!"  She heard rocks sliding.  "Careful!"

            "Great Goddess, Jade!  Where did you get yourself into?"

            "Just get me out!"

            "I'm coming! Oomph… I'm coming!"

            Jade felt cool hands grab blindly for her hands.  "Got you!"  Liana began to pull back.

            Jade heard some cracking around her.  "Liana! The ledge!"  She felt the ground move down suddenly, but it stopped quickly cracking some more.  Liana jumped back in reaction.  Jade gripped the edge in fear.

            "Jade?"

            "I'm slipping!"

            "Mithros! Hang on!"  Jade felt hands on her arms again.  A split second letter the edge gave way and Jade plummeted a few feet before Liana's hands stopped her fall.  

            "Liana!"

            "Oomph!  Hold on!  I'm in a really odd position!"

            Jade felt them go a little further.  "You're going to over too!"

            "No I won't! Just hold on!  Oomph!"

            "Liana!" Jade called in fear.

            "Jade! Come on.  Just hold on!" one hand slipped from her grasp.  "JADE!"

            "Help me, PLEASE!"

            "JADE! HOLD ON!"  Liana screamed.

            Jade felt her hand slip and open air swallowed her.  Liana's scream faded into the distance and all sights and sounds exploded in Jade's mind.  She didn't know how long a fall it was.  It could have been 30 feet it could have been one mile.  The last thing that went through her mind was brilliant colors.  Blues, greens, silvers, yellows, purples; all at once, ending in a red so bright, it overwhelmed her sense of self.  And then all thought ended.

*****

            The first rays of sun crept over the edge of the horizon as Jayson stalked over to the cage/carts on one side of the field.  His uniform was splattered with blood, his left arm in rather intense pain, it was probably broken.  Various other Legionnaires had already gotten there and were in the process of releasing several children.  Jayson stepped into a crowd of nearly fifty boys and girls, all under the age of 16.  They were lead to a clearing where they were given food, water, and medical attention.  Jayson walked through them all.  Looking each girl in the face…looking for a familiar pair of eyes.  He didn't like what he saw.  Some of the female eyes looked as dead as the ones of the dead rebels.  He was somewhat terrified of seeing green eyes that empty.

            With each girl he passed, he grew a bit more desperate.  "Are there any more of you?" he called out.

            A boy answered.  "They sold a lot of us on the way down."

            Jayson's heart froze.  Had he finally caught up to them only to have been to late?  He looked around again.  Looked for black curls and light skin.  Nothing.

            "There was a girl…" he called out.  "…she had green eyes?"  No one seemed to recognize that.  "Ten years old!  Black curly hair!"  Nothing.  "Her name is Jade!"  A girl looked up.

            "There was a girl on my cart by that name.  But she didn't have green eyes.  They were blue."

            He swallowed.  He didn't think it was possible for anyone to mistake Jade's green eyes for blue.

            "But she had green magic.  Said her Pa was a mage fighting in the war."

            His heart soared.  "And?"

            "Said she was born in Tortall."

            He smiled.  There couldn't be that many girls with that description.  "Where is she?"

            "They took her last night…into the tents."

            Without another thought he turned and ran towards the tents.  Legionnaires were searching through them quickly.  "Look for a girl!" He yelled.  "Ten years! Green eyes!"  He pushed through some tents, seeing if she was in them.  She was here…she had to be.

            A holler from outside the encampment came over.  "Over here!"

            He ran to the voice.  One of his men walked with a girl, not Jade, in his hand.  She looked to be around twelve or thirteen.  "What's your name?" he asked the girl.

            "Liana." She whispered, dried tears and blood all over her face.  He placed his hand under her chin and lifted it.  "How did you get all this blood on you, Liana?"

            She looked on the verge of tears suddenly.  Instead of speaking she pointed to a tent.  Jayson walked over and peered inside.  He flinched.  A man lay face down on the floor, his brains effectively splattered everywhere.  He looked at her.  "Did you do that?" She shook her head no.  "Who did?"  Fresh tears rolled down her face.  "Another girl.  He was…he was on top of me…" she cried.  "She came in…and ….and she hit him with that board there.  She didn't mean to hit him so hard.  But she used….used her magic…"  She was sobbing openly.

            Jayson squinted at the body.  "How did she get out of the cage?"

            "She was…was supposed to be in another tent….like me….but I don't know what happened…all I know is that he was on top of me…and he ….he wouldn't stop….and than Jade came in and she hit him with the board and…"  
            "Wait! Stop! Who?"  Jayson kneeled to her level.  
            "Jade…" came the sobbing reply.

            "Jade Salmalin?" he questioned, heart soaring.

            She nodded.

            Jayson stood and looked at the body once more.  He marveled at it a moment.  Jade had done that? It was unbelievable.  She was supposed to be to shy to do 

_Anything_!  He smiled.  "Where is she? Jade, I mean."

            The girl broke out into heart wrenching sobs.  It startled Jayson.  "She fell…she fell over the cliff!"

            "What?" it didn't come out very load, his entire voice failed him.

            "She FELL!" She sobbed again, this time pointing in the direction of the desert.

            Jayson took off with a few other men and reached a steep incline.  They slid down carefully until they reached a rather abrupt edge.  He looked over that edge to see an enormous gorge, with several weeds and bushes hiding what were probably sharp rocks.  His shoulders fell as did his heart.  He clenched his eyes and cursed his timing.

            One of his men spoke softly.  "She didn't survive that fall, sir."

            Jayson turned sharply and stormed off, feeling as if he'd lost something very valuable.  His men watched as he stormed into his personal tent and listened to the angry screams of rage.

*****

            Empress Kalasin stepped softly into the temple.  It was dark and gloomy, completely empty, except for one.  Numair Salmalin sat under a statue of the Dark Lord, leaning back against the stone legs and robes, his eyes blank and emotionless.  The white strands in his hair standing out more than ever.

            She stepped up to him and slowly sat on the ground in front of him.  They sat there for countless minutes, she, worriedly looking him over, he starring into nothingness.

            "Numair…" she said softly.  Her voice was weak from weeping herself and her pale hands trembled.

            "I've lost everything…" was his only reply.

            Kalasin felt the tears run down her cheeks again.  She didn't know what to say to a man who had lost the only precious thing left in his life.  When she looked up again into his face, she noticed tears running down them.  He clenched his eyes and let his head fall to her lap.  She embraced him as best she could, running soft hands through his hair in the only form of comfort she could give, her friendship.

*****

**THE END**

A/N:  OK…I know some of you are going to flip out over this ending.  I can see it now…"**HOW COLD YOU KILL JADE?**"  Well…I just did…but remember…there's an entire story to go…possibly two…depending on how it goes.

Next story: The Secret Magic: 3: Whisperings

Next chapter:         Chapter 1     Add Red to That List

Chapters to come:  Chapter 2:    Waiting in Solandia

                               Chapter 3:    To take you Home

                               Chapter 4:    Here are the facts about **you**


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